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(08/26/13 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Indiana University ranks consistently high on lists of “top party schools,” and most freshmen who come here are at least somewhat familiar with that reputation. The pressure to participate in party culture is there even before we set foot on campus.Hearing upperclassmen’s stories about stealing cases of beer from parties and waking up for class still drunk realizes a college culture incoming students have come to expect. Cultural narratives surrounding the college years imply that this is the time for experimentation. College campuses act as satellites for Las Vegas: What happens here, we think, stays here. IU students should party. Learning how to balance our social and professional lives is a skill that IU teaches quite well.What we don’t learn quite as well is how to party responsibly.The state of Indiana is to blame. The University is to blame. This publication is to blame. And in many cases, parents aren’t without blame.Last year the Indiana statehouse passed a law called the Indiana Lifeline Law, which protects young people who are trying to get medical help for a friend from being prosecuted for underage drinking. Too little is being done to promote the existence of this law.With its current exposure, underage drinkers might remember something called “Lifeline” exists while sober, but if they find themselves in a dangerous situation while intoxicated, this information is unlikely to pop into their hazy consciousnesses.The Indiana Lifeline Law also needs to be revised to include exemptions for drug posession charges. Without this measure, students will continue to fear the help they desperately need.The state of Indiana has an obligation to its citizens to make the contents of this law common knowledge. IU shares in that obligation.Forcing every incoming student to take an Alcohol.edu class is almost the least IU can do. Students glide through the program so quickly it’s degraded to a well-meaning afterthought. Like cramming for a test, the information stays with us just long enough to pass.A new program spanning several weeks that requires in-person attendance would result in students remembering lessons about safe drinking. An instructor could meet privately with everyone to talk about personal habits and how to make them safer.To its credit, IU has tried to encourage good habits, especially through social media with well-timed tweets and posts. Unfortunately, its “Street Smart” ad campaign featuring plastic “party animals” talks down to the college students it is trying to engage. There’s a reason very few movies featuring a talking animal achieve anything higher than a “PG” rating.The IDS has an obligation to keep students informed as well. Up to this point, we have failed in this regard. Both our international student and new student guides failed to mention the Lifeline legislation. Neither the law nor safe partying tips were included in our Welcome Week coverage. From now on we will strive to fulfill our mission to adequately inform our public.Finally, parents should freely talk to students about their alcohol use. Often, stigmatizing something as forbidden drives young people to the very behavior being warned against. Clandestine, hazardous drinking behavior is much harder to confront than risky behavior that’s common knowledge.Of course, students need to carefully consider how they are drinking and who they’re drinking with. But it is up to our state, school, parents and publication to give students the tools to have a good time and come home safe at the end of the night.— opinion@idsnews.comFollow the opinion desk on Twitter @ids_opinion
(08/26/13 1:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Indiana University ranks consistently high on lists of “top party schools,” and most freshmen who come here are at least somewhat familiar with that reputation. The pressure to participate in party culture is there even before we set foot on campus.Hearing upperclassmen’s stories about stealing cases of beer from parties and waking up for class still drunk realizes a college culture incoming students have come to expect. Cultural narratives surrounding the college years imply that this is the time for experimentation. College campuses act as satellites for Las Vegas: What happens here, we think, stays here. IU students should party. Learning how to balance our social and professional lives is a skill that IU teaches quite well.What we don’t learn quite as well is how to party responsibly.The state of Indiana is to blame. The University is to blame. This publication is to blame. And in many cases, parents aren’t without blame.Last year the Indiana statehouse passed a law called the Indiana Lifeline Law, which protects young people who are trying to get medical help for a friend from being prosecuted for underage drinking. Too little is being done to promote the existence of this law.With its current exposure, underage drinkers might remember something called “Lifeline” exists while sober, but if they find themselves in a dangerous situation while intoxicated, this information is unlikely to pop into their hazy consciousnesses.The Indiana Lifeline Law also needs to be revised to include exemptions for drug posession charges. Without this measure, students will continue to fear the help they desperately need.The state of Indiana has an obligation to its citizens to make the contents of this law common knowledge. IU shares in that obligation.Forcing every incoming student to take an Alcohol.edu class is almost the least IU can do. Students glide through the program so quickly it’s degraded to a well-meaning afterthought. Like cramming for a test, the information stays with us just long enough to pass.A new program spanning several weeks that requires in-person attendance would result in students remembering lessons about safe drinking. An instructor could meet privately with everyone to talk about personal habits and how to make them safer.To its credit, IU has tried to encourage good habits, especially through social media with well-timed tweets and posts. Unfortunately, its “Street Smart” ad campaign featuring plastic “party animals” talks down to the college students it is trying to engage. There’s a reason very few movies featuring a talking animal achieve anything higher than a “PG” rating.The IDS has an obligation to keep students informed as well. Up to this point, we have failed in this regard. Both our international student and new student guides failed to mention the Lifeline legislation. Neither the law nor safe partying tips were included in our Welcome Week coverage. From now on we will strive to fulfill our mission to adequately inform our public.Finally, parents should freely talk to students about their alcohol use. Often, stigmatizing something as forbidden drives young people to the very behavior being warned against. Clandestine, hazardous drinking behavior is much harder to confront than risky behavior that’s common knowledge.Of course, students need to carefully consider how they are drinking and who they’re drinking with. But it is up to our state, school, parents and publication to give students the tools to have a good time and come home safe at the end of the night.— opinion@idsnews.comFollow the opinion desk on Twitter @ids_opinion
(08/20/13 6:36pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Freshmen who travel in packsLike a school of fish avoiding the big sharks, campus’ latest additions roam Indiana University with the safety in numbers method of operation. These packs more than likely comprise of old high school friends and their random roommates from Chicago, though they’re actually from the suburbs. Freshmen holed up in their roomsTheir parents only left a few hours before and they’re already halfway through the first season of “The X-Files.” These solitude-loving freshmen fear the vast IU campus and probably won’t venture out until that 8 a.m. class they signed up for. But don’t be afraid to get out and try new things! There’s someone out there who is just as interested in staying in as you, and they’d love the company.Freshmen who go out every night because they think that’s what college isThese newbies are too busy asking the question, “How do I college?” And they’re naïve enough to believe it means going out every single night. Hopefully they’ll learn before too long that it’s more than okay to take a night off here and there. Because God forbid sobriety is practiced on a quiet Tuesday evening. They should take a page from the homebody freshmen and stay in once in a while.Upperclassmen who think they have to go out every nightThese are the sophomores, juniors and seniors who never figured it out as freshman. But instead of being kind of adorable and forgivable, it’s mostly just sad. C’mon, people. Instead of polishing off a fifth of Smirnoff on a Monday night, just get your homework done or procrastinate on Netflix. The weekend always rolls back around. Sophomores who think they’re so above freshmenAttention sophomores: it was only a year ago that you were beginning your IU adventure. So the right to judge and/or hackle freshmen is not yours. Technically you’re still an underclassman and more readily identified with freshmen than juniors or seniors. So stick your tail back between your legs and run along.Juniors who have moved off campus and live on their porchesThe dorms are a mere twinkle in their eye, and they finally have a piece of dilapidated property to call their own. So what do they do? Put a couch on their front pouch and hang out shirtless all day long. You’re also likely to see them halfway through a case of beer and yelling at those packs of freshmen mentioned above. Seniors who have seen it allThese wise Gandalfs and Dumbledores of Bloomington have seen, heard and done it all. There isn’t a college experience they haven’t been through themselves, and they would love nothing more than to impart their questionable wisdom onto you. Seniors who haven’t seen anything because they’ve been blacked out the whole timeAnd finally, the haggard drunkards who haven’t learned a thing other than the most efficient ways to remain publicly and permanently wasted. And you know what? Give them their beer degrees and send them off. Their livers have more than earned your respect. Follow Opinion on Twitter @IDS_Opinion
(08/19/13 6:42pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a stroke of genius, Indiana University found itself in a literal dick-measuring contest this summer when researchers set out to answer the age-old question: how big is the average penis? With this noble purpose, 1661 men self-reported their length and girth for the express purpose of getting condoms with the perfect fit. Apparently, avoiding condoms that were too tight or too baggy was enough incentive to keep these guys honest.Ranging from 1.6 inches to 10.2 inches in length erect, the average peen in this study shakes out to about 5.6 inches.And you know, average doesn’t really get enough credit.We’ve heard that it’s not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean that matters when two consenting adults want to bump uglies. And while the idea of a yacht entices us all, your standard sporting boat doesn’t get its fair share of glory.Mind you, we aren’t advocating any sort of speed boat finish here. We’ve signed up for an enjoyable ride, so don’t sell us short.One of the researchers, Debby Herbenick, Ph.D, is careful to clarify that, “Research on sexual satisfaction tends to suggest that other factors (such as intimacy, affection and psychological connection) are more important than a person’s genital size.”But 1.6 inches? You can shower us with all the love and affection you’re capable of, but we’re not sure how to deal with a dinghy, here.On the other end of the spectrum, the prospect of the Titanic thrusting into our iceberg isn’t particularly scintillating, either. It may sound stimulating in theoretical fantasy, but put yourself in reality for a minute. Ouch.We hope these guys are good with their hands. Or at least they know how to get creative.No, give us a reliable, manageable 5 1/2 inches. He knows what to do with it. We know what to do with it. He doesn’t feel compelled to buy stupid shiny things to overcompensate.He can wear sweatpants confidently.He won’t leave us to do niche pornography or regular pornography, probably.But don’t worry, dudes who find yourselves outside average. There are plenty of ways to satisfy a lover other than putting your penis somewhere inside someone. And we’re not talking intimacy, affection or psychological connection, though those are all important.If you have sex with women, you’re actually more likely to satisfy them by trying something other than putting your ‘p’ in their ‘v’.If you’re feeling like you might not measure up, we would recommend some consulting: lyrics to Danny Brown’s “I Will,” “The Joy of Sex,” the Kama Sutra, or anything by the beloved Dr. Ruth.A little research can go a long way.Follow Opinion on Twitter @IDS_Opinion
(12/05/12 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Recently, Dr. Melba S. Ketchum, director and founder of DNA Diagnostics, Inc., released the results of a five–year genetic study that she claims confirms the existence of a “novel hominin hybrid species.” Put simply, Sasquatch.In this study, samples were retrieved from the saliva residue left on a half-eaten bagel. Dr. Ketchum was able to extract 20 mitochondrial genomes and three nuclear genomes and compare them to the DNA sequencing of humans and multiple primate species. The results of this study have led Dr. Ketchum to claim the sample came from an organism produced after the mating of Homo sapiens women with an unknown hominin species.The study’s manuscript has yet to be published in any scientific journal, so for now Dr. Ketchum’s claims cannot be officially confirmed or even analyzed by the scientific community.In past circumstances in which supposed “Sasquatch discoverers” announced they had found undeniable proof of the creature’s existence, it was later confirmed their proof was either inconclusive, extremely exaggerated or a hoax. Unfortunately, Dr. Ketchum’s premature press release suggests this study will follow the same pattern.It’s important to remember that although the history of Sasquatch research has been stained with hoax and disappointment, a community of legitimate scientists from multiple backgrounds research the possibility.Dr. Jeff Meldrum, a professor of physical anthropology and anatomy at Idaho State University, has hypothesized that the most likely ancestor of Sasquatch is not of human origin, past or present, but instead Gigantopithecus blacki, an East-Asian Pleistocene giant that could have crossed the Bering land bridge into North America at the same time early humans did. Scientists such as Dr. John Bindernagel, Grover Krantz and even Jane Goodall have regarded this explanation as the most likely origin of a modern-day Sasquatch.The relation of human DNA and possible Sasquatch hybridization is usually regarded by this community as a strategy to receive as much media attention as possible, regardless of the legitimacy of one’s claims.Sadly, what is perceivably loony or absurd in Sasquatch research, like the image of human women mating with hairy monsters, has historically received much more media attention for cheap shock value.The real researchers fight a two-front battle against the accepted scientific community as well as the individuals who skew the facts for their own benefit.And let’s be honest: Were Ketchum’s claims not so sensational, we probably wouldn’t be writing an editorial about a Sasquatch in the first place.Dr. Ketchum’s results have yet to be published, so for now we must wait.
(12/03/12 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Palestine has been upgraded to non-member observer status in the United Nations. For the United States, it’s an important moment to re-frame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in terms that recognize Israel is not innocent. This is not the righteous against the wicked.Palestine’s gestures toward its own sovereignty are not merely provocative actions. Most of the UN recognizes this. The UN General Assembly voted in favor of the resolution 138 to nine last Thursday in New York.The U.S. was one of the few countries to oppose the resolution. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice called the decision “unfortunate and counterproductive.” She reiterated, “This resolution does not establish that Palestine is a state.”Rice is correct, but it does allow Palestine access to UN resources, like the International Criminal Court.The resolution also formally recognizes Palestine in a way contrary to its popular depiction in the U.S.During the violence two weeks ago, President Barack Obama said in favor of Israel’s attacks on Palestine, “There’s no country on Earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens from outside its borders.” His logic doesn’t extend to Palestine. In the recent attacks, 39 Palestinians were killed. Peace and diplomacy go both ways.Hopefully the UN vote will force pro-Israel U.S. citizens to rethink their allegiance. For a fair compromise to be reached, Palestine deserves recognition and respectful treatment by the U.S.“We did not come here seeking to delegitimize a state established years ago, and that is Israel,” said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “Rather, we came to affirm the legitimacy of a state that must now achieve its independence, and that is Palestine.”Since the UN decision, Israel has punished Palestine.Israel is not paying taxes due to the Palestinian Authority, instead paying off Palestinian debts to Israeli electrical companies. Those taxes help pay the thousands of Palestinian salaries. Israel has also approved the construction of 3,000 homes in the West Bank to expand their colonization of Palestine.Zionist U.S. citizens should take this opportunity to question why the overwhelming majority of UN member states disagreed with the U.S. and approved Palestine’s upgraded status.Why are Palestinians who defend themselves from Israel Defense Forces called terrorists when their land has been seized and occupied?Why does the U.S. refuse to acknowledge Israel’s war crimes committed against Palestine, including drone strikes and the blockade of building materials?Why does the U.S. insist that Israel be involved in every action toward Palestine’s self-determination?The UN resolution does not put an end to the violence in the region. Too many humans, Israeli and Palestinian, will continue to suffer. Palestinian statehood does, however, represent a step toward leveling the diplomatic playing field.
(11/14/12 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There were many surprises and unexpected turns in the political campaigns during this election season, but perhaps none so much as Hank the Cat’s bid for Virginia’s U.S. Senate seat. Running as a third party candidate, Hank nevertheless made a strong bid. The success of his campaign is shocking for several reasons. First, Hank ran as a write-in candidate. Second, Hank is a cat. We are not being metaphorical. Hank is a literal cat. And most shocking of all, Hank did not run in one of the states voting to legalize marijuana because honestly, legal weed advocates are an essential demographic in any successful feline’s political campaign. He ran in Virginia.Hank, a 9-year-old Maine Coon, ran a full-on campaign complete with stickers, shirts and yard signs. He even appeared at public venues to gain publicity for his campaign. Needless to say, Hank was always a formally dressed politician, never appearing without a bowtie or necktie attached to his collar.Since the Virginia Board of Elections does not actually count write-in candidates, the votes had to be tallied by the cat’s supporters. Recent estimates show Hank appears to have earned more than 7,000 votes.To be fair, Hank raised some excellent points in his television commercial. Yeah, you read that right. He had a television commercial. In it, he drew attention to the looming fiscal cliff and the failures of Congress before urging, “It’s OK to vote the humans out. It’s OK to elect Hank for Senate.” Frankly, we’re kind of onboard with Hank’s campaign platform. It’s not as if the idea of non-human creatures with political power is a new one. Roman Emperor Caligula made his horse a senator. More recently, Alaska did something similar with former Gov. Sarah Palin. Hank has become something more than a simple third party candidate. He is an icon. He represents our shared frustration and disillusionment with the political system, our desire for cooperation between politicians and our firm belief that the best kind of jokes are the ones taken way too far. It’s too early to say for certain, but Hank might have our vote in 2016. And when he’s screening fellow furry vice-presidential candidates, Lil Bub, we’re looking at you.
(11/14/12 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The people of Colorado and Washington have just said no to the War on Drugs and voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Their rebellion might be short-lived, as the federal government could sue the states concerning the measure, threaten marijuana vendors and put boots on the ground to enforce countervailing federal law.Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Democrat Gov.-elect Jay Inslee of Washington both oppose legalization but have said they intend to respect the will of their respective peoples and go forward with implementing the measures.President Barack Obama must do the same, since he said he would.In 2008, Obama said he would not “be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws” regarding marijuana.He lied. Since 2009, the Justice Department has carried out more than 170 paramilitary raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in nine states.Obama later said he never “made a commitment” to give “carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana” and said, “I can’t nullify congressional law. I can’t ask the Justice Department to say, ‘Ignore completely a federal law that’s on the books.’” Which is funny, because that is exactly what he did when he issued an executive order to stop the deportation of young illegal aliens. Amazingly, Democrats, many of them young voters, look askance.It doesn’t matter whether it’s moralistic Republicans making sure you aren’t smoking the leaf of sin or big government Democrats making sure you can’t escape federal reach. It’s clear the federal government just doesn’t trust its citizens and the respective governments of these United States to make decisions about their own lives, much less their own laws.Civil asset forfeiture, military-style police raids and liberal jail terms and fines for the perpetrators of victimless “crimes” are not American principles. Allowing communities, families and individuals to determine their own values are.Nearly half of all Americans, including Obama, have smoked marijuana at least once. According to a Rasmussen poll this year, 56 percent of Americans said marijuana should be legal. That’s a popular majority — something Democrats like Obama are supposed to appreciate and respect. Obama could begin by allowing states to figure out marijuana laws for themselves.The people of Colorado and Washington have told the federal jackboot, “Don’t tread on me.” It’s time for Obama and his Justice Department to back off. Just as importantly, it’s time for young Obama supporters to stop giving his administration a free pass on their very undemocratic drug enforcement policies.If the majority votes for it, let the people have their weed!
(11/01/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>What do strippers and ballerinas have in common? Well, as of now, apparently a lot less than some had hoped.After appealing the initial decision, a New York State Court of Appeals voted that strip clubs do, in fact, have to pay their sales tax. The decision was split, 4-3.The reasoning behind the establishment in question was that the girls dancing on the tables throughout evenings were demonstrating “dramatic or musical arts performances.” This would basically mean that, if granted, the club would be exempt because the artistic abilities of these dancers are equal with that of a ballerina and should be exempt because of the arts.Funding for the arts has been an issue that torments not only school systems but American culture as a whole. These tax exemptions to allow many establishments to avoid paying their sales tax are an attempt to encourage such artistic performance opportunities, like ballets, operas, orchestras and plays. But, apparently, not stripping.It is reputedly a popular choice for many ballerinas who can no longer sustain the rigor of their performance art to turn to exotic dancing as a second career option, in that it demonstrates many of the same appeals of dancing and movement. The bigger issue, however, is whether the two art forms are truly in the same class.While dancing ballet demonstrates a high-class art, it is clear that stripping would be considered a very low-class art. But, does it even count as that? The intensity and dedication required to truly dedicate oneself to dancing is very much unmatched by the work of stripping.Yet those who are in favor of such a decision would argue that it is not fair to simply treat the stripping industry differently because it may not be as classy. The argument is that both art forms are types of dancing, and even though stripping comes with less polished, polite styles, it is, at the same time, a form of art and should be treated in the same way as any other artistic performance.The dissenting opinion the trial uses is the example of Hustler magazine in contrast with the New Yorker. The writer claims that, although these publications are extraordinarily different in content, it would be unrealistic to impose a tax on Hustler that would not be impressed on the New Yorker, if only for the reason of its social standing.Through and through, the tables of a club are a very different location for performances than a stage in an opera house. Although the audiences may equally enjoy the dances, the taxes behind it are most definitely not the same.
(10/30/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It makes nothing more than the faintest buzzing noise as it circles as high as 50,000 feet above your head. Most witnesses describe it as almost imperceptible. Yet this faint, bumblebee-style buzzing strikes fear into the hearts of most Pakistanis.During his eight years as president, George W. Bush ordered just more than 40 strikes using stealth drones. One reporter’s tally from earlier this year puts President Barack Obama’s orders for these strikes at 265. To be fair, due to technological improvements and increases in availability of this technology, it can’t necessarily be said that drone technology is being used in a less responsible fashion. But it is certainly fair to say that one way or another they are being used more.Yet during the most recent presidential debate, neither candidate addressed the issue. In fact, they both agreed that drone capabilities were an important part of the American military of the future.While we don’t necessarily disagree, we think the issue warrants more discussion in the public sphere.These strikes come paired with many concerns about their use.According to the authorities in many countries, they cause significant civilian casualties. Since the Pakistani government voted in April to ban all drone strikes, they have represented a blatant violation of Pakistani sovereignty. These technologies have been used to kill American citizens abroad without due process.The current administration’s policy of keeping the program classified means that the American people are deprived of their ability to remain informed about the issue, which further deprives them of their ability to weigh in on it.In a continuing trend extending as far back as former president Ronald Reagan’s invasion of Grenada, the power of the executive branch to wage war first and answer questions later has been expanded dramatically. Secret arms of executive organizations now have the unilateral power to conduct covert operations without ever once appealing to the demos or seeking Congressional approval.Presidents were never intended to have this much military power. The branch of the presidency is called the executive for a reason. It is the duty of the commander in chief to execute military policy. That power should, and at one time did, reside with the Congress.The ability to wage war in the 21st century without putting actual lives at risk is certainly a laudable goal, and drones and other warfare technologies will be invaluable to that effort.But just as the advent of these technologies has revolutionized the way we wage war, it must also revolutionize the ways we police those who wage it for us.In response, we call for the Obama administration to declassify the operations conducted by these drones. The American people have a right and responsibility to know who its government is assassinating, where and why, especially when these individuals are American citizens. We see no reason why this right is vitiated in the case of drone warfare.
(10/25/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There are imaginary, illegal and dead voters on our voting rolls, and anyone can just show up and vote under one of those names.Voter fraud is scary, isn’t it?It would be even scarier if it were occurring with any sort of frequency.According to News21, a site where journalism students from around the country work together to report about a changing America, 2,068 cases of voter fraud were reported between 2000 and 2010. That is about 207 cases a year and an average of only 4.1 cases per state per year. To give these numbers some perspective, more than 130 million people voted during the 2008 election. That means voter fraud accounted for about 0.000159 percent of votes that year. The issue is a distraction for our electorate, legislature and officials. Indiana was one of the first states to pounce on this so-called problem, passing a voter identification law in 2006. Our law requires some form of state-issued ID that displays your photo, your name and an expiration date sometime after the last General Election, and it must be issued by the state of Indiana or the U.S. government. Luckily for out-of-state IU students, public university IDs count. Private university IDs do not. Indiana’s law potentially disenfranchises the poor, minorities, the elderly and out-of-state college students.This year, Indiana is stepping up its efforts by stationing federal prosecutors at U.S. Attorney’s offices throughout the state. From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., election officials and voters will be able to file allegations of suspected voter fraud or voting rights violations to these prosecutors. Just like the drafting, deliberating, passing and signing of any voter ID law, this new policy seems like a waste of time and money to us. Since voter fraud occurs maybe four times per election per state, couldn’t we just set up a hotline for concerned individuals to call? Don’t these prosecutors have better things to do than wait around in case someone complains about possible voter fraud?Our fear of voter fraud is a monster under our beds, a distraction from actual problems our legislatures should be confronting. These laws are a solution without a problem, and they do a better job undermining our democracy than protecting it.Estimates of potential disenfranchisement range from hundreds of thousands to millions, but even the lowest estimates of disenfranchisement greatly outpace the rate of voter fraud.No amount of disenfranchisement is worth curbing a problem that barely occurs and is statistically unable to change the outcome of an election. Everyone deserves the right to vote, even if they do not have a photo ID. Let’s focus our energy on fixing actual problems.
(10/24/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The expression “You can’t understand someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes” is taken far too literally. This week, yet another individual came forward to explain his experiences. This time, it was a man discussing what it is like to be gay. Interestingly, though, the man is not.Timothy Kurek — a white, Christian, straight man — decided, in an attempt to better understand the “gay experience,” he would come out to his friends and family and claim to be gay for a calendar year. He went so far as to find a gay friend who would pretend to be his boyfriend so as to convince his friends of the ruse. At the end of his year, he came out again, telling his friends and family that he was, in fact, simply doing a social experiment and that he was not actually gay.This was just another ploy in a series of individuals attempting to experience the lives of others. From pretending to be gay to wearing a fake afro to wearing a burkah and parading around Central Park, attempting to relate to minority ideas by impersonating them so as to get “firsthand” experience has become a growing trend.Here, though, is the problem. To be gay is not simply something you can take for a test drive. If you aren’t actually pursuing sexual or emotional relationships with other men, you aren’t experiencing what it means to be gay. Being gay is not just having a boyfriend and telling your family. It is about the way a person thinks, feels and loves. Those are things no amount of imitation can truly duplicate.That said, Kurek also said this experience has allowed him to better understand others and be more tolerant of those around him. In that sense, although not particularly bright, at the very least this little experiment had some benefits. By having the ability to interact with the negative stereotypes one has, they are better able to confront and eventually overcome them. When the woman who chooses to wear an afro to understand black culture comes to terms with her views on race, she is better able to control them. When a woman experiences wearing a burkah in public, she can better understand her views on religious differences. When a straight man imitates what it is like to come out as gay, he is better able to empathize with the pain of those for whom these experiences are very real.
(10/24/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Huddle up, team. Take a knee.For the past month, the Mitt Romney campaign has channeled its inner high school football coach with a new catchphrase.On the campaign bus, on Romney-Ryan bracelets, behind the scenes at the debates, the camp has endlessly used “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” to energize supporters.It’s definitely not the first campaign to employ a catchy phrase to excite the constituency. Think, “Yes we can.” The problem with Romney’s use of “clear eyes” is that it’s not his own.“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” is the rallying cry for the fictional Dillon High School Panthers of the hit TV show “Friday Night Lights.” Coach Eric Taylor uses the phrase to get his team to two Texas state championships in five seasons.To be sure, it’s a great phrase. We have printed it on a poster in our newsroom to inspire us to observe with clear eyes and report with full hearts.Romney’s use of the phrase has politicized an otherwise purely motivational maxim. Granted, the Obama team has also used the phrase on occasion, but Romney’s adoption has now become a centerpiece of his campaign lore, just as much as “Yes we can” defined Obama’s 2008 campaign.Peter Berg, the creator of “Friday Night Lights” and original author of “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” fired a letter to the Romney campaign asking it to cease using his words.“Your politics and campaign are clearly not aligned with the themes we portrayed in our series,” Berg said in the letter. “The only relevant comparison that I see between your campaign and ‘Friday Night Lights’ is in the character of Buddy Garrity — who turned his back on American car manufacturers selling imported cars from Japan.”The author of the “Friday Night Lights” nonfiction book based on the 1988 season of the Permian High School Panthers, H.G. “Buzz” Bissinger fired back to Berg. Bissinger, a Romney supporter, has been known to pick fights with Berg over the future of the franchise.“He has no idea what and who Romney is about. I find his letter uninformed and offensive,” Bissinger said. “Berg is just another member of the Hollywood glitterati whose idea of liberalism is making sure their Mexican gardeners get paid only several dollars below minimum wage.”The whole debacle peaked in Monday’s final debate, when Romney alluded to the phrase when discussing Russian-U.S. relations.“Russia does continue to battle us in the U.N. time and time again,” Romney said. “I have clear eyes on this.”No, Mr. Romney. That’s the final straw.The great thing about “Friday Night Lights” was that it was wonderfully apolitical. The characters lived and worked and played football in a very real world but managed to tackle those real-world problems without invoking political bickering.The joy of watching Friday night football in a small town like Dillon, Texas, is that you can put aside any political rivalries and sit in the stands on a fall evening and cheer for the hometown team.It seems that in an extraordinarily tense political season, we need a little more of those Friday night lights and less childish bickering in national debates.Clear eyes, full hearts.
(10/22/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A couple in China is suing an American education consultant for the $2 million they paid him. The lawsuit is in response to his failure to secure their son’s admission to Harvard University. It is suspected that this education consultant misrepresented himself as a former professor of Harvard with a number of connections that would ascertain their son’s admittance.It appears he was instead an assistant professor and lecturer that ceased communication with the university in 2005. This lawsuit showcases how international students hoping to receive an American education are sometimes exploited, and it might hit closer to home than we realize.As it stands, some international students are at risk of forfeiting their IU education because they are either not prepared to handle four years of coursework in another language or not better acclimated to the system IU has in place to improve English proficiency.Consequently, these students will, after a few $24,000+ semesters, be forced to leave IU due to low grades if their English does not improve. The language barrier prevents international students from succeeding, even if they are excellent, capable students and can dance circles around their American classmates. Most need to have a stellar academic record to even gain admission to IU.IU requires international students to demonstrate proficiency in their initial application in one of three ways. They may either complete a proficiency test, obtain a minimum of 500 on the SAT’s critical reading section or a 21 on the ACT’s English section, or present evidence of having attended a secondary school in an English-speaking country.If these students do not meet certain test scores, they must complete Intensive English Program Placement, which requires them to achieve adequate English proficiency before they enroll in academic courses.IU might consider defining adequate English proficiency more strictly for the sake of students who enroll in courses only to discover that their language abilities prevent them from succeeding in these courses.Academic advancement is not the only problem. International students often run into trouble with the judicial board because they do not understand IU rules and expectancies as a result of the language barrier.Occasionally, these students are accused of plagiarism when, in fact, there were misunderstandings about citation requirements.We imagine that IU has no intention of exploiting these students. We recently proudly reported record enrollment from this community.There are 7,785 international students enrolled in IU campuses this semester, a 70 percent increase since 2005.If IU is interested in improving retention rates, the issues with English proficiency must be addressed.IU can handle this situation in one of two ways. They can either increase language expectancies and bar international students from admission if they are not met, or they can improve Intensive English Program Placement. We advocate the latter.It would be a shame to lose talented and competent students because of a language barrier, especially when they are entitled to and expect a quality education in exchange for the generous amount they pay to be here.
(10/15/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Americans had about 4 million babies in 2011.While this number seems staggering, it’s actually the lowest number of births since 1998. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this represents a current birth rate of about 1.9 babies per woman during the course of her life. In the United States, our replacement rate, the number of babies a woman must have during her life to replace herself and one man, hovers between 2 and 2.1.Birth rates typically fall in times of economic turmoil. In the past, children were one of the cheapest forms of labor available, which meant, assuming they lived long enough, they often made up for a considerable portion of their cost.Why does this matter to us? As we grow older and think about having children ourselves, we might find the economic and social climate that is friendly to having many children has changed significantly.Today, children are ridiculously expensive. In a country where we typically mortgage a $150,000 house for 30 years, raising one child for 18 years costs more than $300,000. And that doesn’t include college tuition.It’s understandable that now, during one of the worst economic situations in modern history, we might see birth rates slacken a bit.The difference is that many experts estimate this particular economic downturn is one that could take longer than usual to correct.Many economists say a larger than normal proportion of those who are currently unemployed are without work not due to a lack of jobs, but because they are not qualified for many of the jobs available. Economists call this structural, rather than cyclical, unemployment. If finding jobs for these people will solve the economic problem in this country, the education and training required for them to gain the skills these jobs require will take time.That extended recovery time means we can expect birth rates to stay low and possibly continue to fall, for the time being. This means, as far-fetched as it may sound when we’re only in our 20s, we need to start thinking critically about aging. If we keep having fewer children, we need to figure out who will shoulder the burden of our inevitable old age. Low birth rates aren’t necessarily all bad news. They can also be associated with higher value placed on women in the workplace and increased awareness and availability of birth control.When women are paid more at work, it increases the opportunity cost of taking leave to have a baby.Also notable is the fact that births among teenage mothers are down even more than the average. MTV had better watch out before they lose their pool of “Teen Mom” stars.In the end, perhaps it’s a bit premature to write an overarching prescription for the falling birth rate in the U.S. As we emerge from the current economic malaise, we can expect this birth rate to increase. There is no way to ignore the fact that birth rates now are lower than they have ever been or probably ever will be for the foreseeable future. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
(10/11/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>South Bend, located counterintuitively in the northernmost part of the state, recently sparked controversy when anti-abortion protesters announced their intention to erect a prayer chapel next to a women’s center which also performs abortions. While at first glance, this may seem to be a strictly local concern, this isn’t some 50-person town surrounded by cornfields. It is the fourth largest city in Indiana. This should not be seen as a simple regional matter but as indicative of the prevalent attitudes and beliefs of a large segment of the state’s population.Women’s Pavilion is a nationwide organization which provides a number of services and procedures for women, such as gynecological and obstetrical care. However, abortion is also one of the procedures offered. This has long made the site a target for anti-abortion activists who protest outside and accost people entering the building, as the over-zealous are known to do. They have already begun raising the $250,000 necessary for the purchase and renovation.This is neither a question of religion nor one’s own personal religious beliefs. Rather, it is a question of antagonism. If the creation of the chapel means that those who protest in front of the Women’s Pavilion now have a designated area from which they can pray quietly and offer religious counsel to the curious and conflicted.What we cannot condone, under any circumstances, is the continued harassment of women using Women’s Pavilion. Activist leader Shawn Sullivan said he believes that the chapel will “maximize prayer efforts,” gives us little hope. We suspect, although we sincerely hope we are wrong, that these prayer efforts are in fact continued public demonstrations and harassment and the new chapel becomes not a sanctuary, but a staging ground. This proposed chapel represents a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of women’s health. It’s not as if Women’s Pavilion has a drive-through abortion window and a McDonald’s style sign proudly proclaiming “Billions served.” Rather, they provide a number of services for women. The woman, called a slut, accosted as she enters the building begged to choose life, may well be there to pick up birth control, be screened for disease or even be there to deliver her baby. These clinics catch cancerous tumors, treat diseases and birth children. Those opposed to abortion on religious or ethical principles might find that $250,000 can be better spent funding adoption programs, and those who simply want to publicly denounce the sinners and harlots will never appreciate the full tragic irony of building a prayer chapel to threaten a lifesaving institution.
(10/08/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>While the D.A.R.E. program has worked wonders helping young people recognize the horrors of getting high, a new theater has emerged in the War on Drugs. We’re looking at you, dogs. ”Stoner dog” cases have recently spiked across the country, especially in places where marijuana has been legalized.It seems that while McGruff the Crime Dog was urging us to take a bite out of crime, he was secretly taking a bite out of a pot brownie, probably provided by his negligent owner.Though marijuana can be used as a medical treatment for human ailments, its effects on dogs resemble those of a bad trip. Two dogs died in Colorado after eating baked goods laced with marijuana butter, which seems to be more toxic to canines.Are you listening, dogs of Bloomington?We know marijuana, or Mary Jane or woof, or whatever you pups are calling it these days, looks fun. Maybe you have seen your master indulging once or twice.Just like you can’t have human food, you can’t have human recreational drugs. Instead of making you giggly, hungry or lazy, pot will make you wobbly, confused and sad. You will get sick and have to go to the vet, and you hate the vet. Once you get there, they will probably have to stick a thermometer up your butt.Think of all your doggie idols.Lassie never smoked. In fact, she spent most of her time trying to save others from smoke poisoning. Air Bud was never blazed, contrary to his name. Instead, he was high on life and slam dunks. The Little Buddies could talk, and they went to space. Why? They never thought about drugs.Balto pulled a sled full of medicine across the harsh Alaskan wilderness and saved a ton of sick kids. He did not keep a vial for himself, and that is why he is an American hero.If you want to save the day, win the championship, or be in a direct-to-DVD movie, you cannot waste away your days in a drug-induced haze.Good dogs don’t do dope. Period. You might be thinking, “I can’t help it, my master just keeps pressuring me. He blows smoke in my ear without asking. What am I supposed to do?”Stand up to peer pressure, dog. Do you not have a life, an identity, outside of your owner? Control your own fate. If your master told you to play dead, would you do it? If he were truly your best friend, would he make you get high even when you hate it? Of course not. If he does, maybe it’s time to find a new owner.
(10/02/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>We thought we got them all the first time. We were wrong. Here, we present a special "creative but stupid ways to drink alcohol" edition of the IU Darwin Awards. Just so you know, some people actually do these things. We recommend that you do not. Eyeball shotsHow repulsive must all the other party people be if you have the urge to pour alcohol into your eyes? While they may not be boyfriend, girlfriend or even Jersey Shore housemate material, chances are there are plenty of nice people for you to meet. Blinding yourself is not going to make Joe Bro or Jane Doe any more eligible or attractive. Save yourself from permanent eye injury and from the embarrassment of waking up the next morning with burning eyes, looking at the beastly being you mistakenly stumbled home with. Even if you score a hottie, the Atwater Eye Care center isn’t a fun first date. Butt-chuggingEven for the Martha Stewarts of creative ingestion methods, this is a little far-fetched. How many other methods went wrong before the first butt-chugger said, “Forget it! Just pour the liquor through a funnel into my butt!”?Before you decide butt-chugging is for you, consider the consequences. Everyone will see your butt. Everyone will take pictures and videos of your butt. Everyone will laugh at your butt, not with your butt. You will also have to uncomfortably drive, ride the bus or waddle to the store and buy someone a new funnel.Tampon-soakingOnce you’ve considered putting a vodka-soaked tampon up in there, it’s probably best to stop drinking altogether. This method will not give you the heavy flow of alcohol you need to get wasted, which, if you’re willing to try this one out, is probably what you’re aiming for. We recommend getting your kicks in some other, less frightening way. After all, who wants to introduce mom and dad to the chick that soaks her tampons in alcohol? Actually, the guy who was butt-chugging last weekend probably does.
(09/28/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It happens about once every couple weeks or so. Kanye West takes to his Twitter to once again to remind us why he’s the most colorful tweeter in the game, or sometimes just the biggest idiot in the world. Last Friday, West tweeted “I just fucked Kim so hard”. The tweet was deleted a few hours later, probably courteous of a certain Hollywood power mom and potential future mother-in-law Kardashian. The problem here isn’t an illustrious, alliterated couple enjoying a healthy sex life. The problem here is that Twitter does not need to be used to state the obvious. Let’s all remember the olden days, think 2006 or so, when we used Facebook to proclaim we were, “Having an awesome day and thinking about eating a Panini! <3 *<3.”The pre-adolescent to high school demographic is the most notorious criminal of stating the painfully apparent. We all did it. We all regret it. But most of us have, hopefully, left those days behind.It seems West is still stuck sharing heaps of useless information.Limiting its users to a measly 140 characters, you might argue Twitter was created to share the obvious and mundane. It’s just not so. Nobody cares what you’re having for lunch. Nobody cares how hard it is to wake up in morning. Why? Because we’re all doing it. While they can never be massively applied, Twitter users should conduct themselves by an unspoken, universal set of laws. Either attempt to be funny, constructively allocate opinions or share the bizarre. Tweets should be few and far between. Not every single event that happens to you in a day merits being broadcast to the masses. That includes if you’re fornicating with your chosen sex partner, celebrity or not.Kanye had better be having great sex. Can you imagine how massively his lyrical content would shift if he couldn’t? But Kanye should deliver his sexual escapades through his rhymes, not his trigger-happy tweeting fingertips. Shockingly enough, he’s much more eloquent rapper than he is a tweeter. Alas, Kanye’s 8.5 million followers shouldn’t be too quick to click the unfollow button. Even if he is occasionally annoying, you can’t deny the entertainment value of his antics. Plus, you never know when he’s going to tweet something glorious. Please see his posts regarding beef-flavored pineapples or his misspelling of the word genius. Unadulterated brilliance.
(09/27/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Indiana is a growing state, and not in a way we like.According to a report published by the Trust for America’s Health, the percentage of Hoosier natives considered obese is 30.8 percent, which ranks eighth in the nation.In the future, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that the report says Indiana will rank 27th in nationwide obesity rates by 2030. The bad news is that the percentage will skyrocket to 56 percent.To think that the ratio of obese citizens will jump this high in just the next 18 years is scary. That’s more than 1 percent per year, which is a steady and frightening increase.The widely accepted perception of weight management has always been that it is a very personal issue. If someone wants to be unhealthy and throw their body into physical disrepair, that is their own prerogative.It doesn’t affect anyone else’s lifestyle, so it shouldn’t be an issue for anyone but that fat person.This is no longer looking acceptable.It is becoming increasingly clear that weight-related issues are much greater than a single issue. Obesity can stretch into subsequent heart problems and other types of physical breakdown that can cause increases in health care coverage. The medical attention that an obese individual needs puts added stress on health care companies and can push these companies past their capacity of service, the ramifications of which could hurt other nonobese clients.Additionally, this begs some serious questions about national productivity. With such a significant share of the population suffering serious health issues in terms of cardiovascular and immune system breakdown, how can Americans stay competitive in a global economic sense?First lady Michelle Obama is outspoken about the fact that this generation is the first in recorded history whose children have lower life expectancy than their parents. A huge part of that is because of the ferocity of obesity rampaging our nation.So leaving this issue to the individual is no longer viable. This is officially the time when the obese need to snap into action, and so does the general public. Health can no longer be a tangential aspect of education.Whether it is a governmental program that gets the country off its significant ass and into the gym, or the motion away from commercialization of gym membership, something must be done to turn this epidemic into a solution that will stop plaguing our nation with productivity issues that could very well hold the country back from being a significant player on a national stage.To make this problem smaller, we need to make ourselves smaller.