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(01/11/08 5:44am)
Keri Garrett and 14 other students sat around a table at the Office of Admissions Wednesday eating pizza. After they filled up, they started making calls to prospective IU students and encouraged them to make Indiana their top choice. \nMinorities only make up 7 percent of the campus population, according to the IU Factbook, and Garrett, the student director of Multicultural Outreach Recruitment Educators, is working to change that.\n“I joined to be involved in something positive (that) would lead to change on campus,” Garrett said.\nMORE was first created by the University as part of its mission to increase diversity, said Charleston Sanders, director of MORE. The organization is an outreach program for the Admissions Office, Sanders said.\nIts original and existing goal is to increase the population of enrolled minority students at IU, junior and MORE member Erin Norton said.\nNorton said she joined MORE because she wanted to make sure students who are interested in enrolling at IU know the truth about minorities on campus.\nIn order to increase the number of minority students, the organization and its 33 members participate in workshops, call-a-thons, student panels, overnight visits and various on- and off-campus programs, Sanders said. These events are meant to showcase IU to prospective minority students.\nIn order to recruit students, the MORE student ambassadors will make about 1,000 calls a year, Sanders said.\nThe student ambassadors are given a general script to help them start up conversations with the potential IU students and answer any questions they might have, Garrett said. \nMORE focuses on students with ethnic backgrounds such as African American, Asian, Hispanic and Native American, Sanders said.\nMORE holds monthly meetings and uses part of the meeting as a call-out to minority students at IU, Garrett said. During the meeting, student ambassadors call minority high school seniors who have been admitted to IU and invite the students to participate in MORE activities in order to become acquainted with the University. \nSanders said the success of the organization is best exemplified by its members. \n“Many people that have been in MORE have been touched by it,” Sanders said.
(01/08/08 4:40am)
The IU Surplus Store is now accepting sealed bids for certain items in its warehouse to reduce the volume of its merchandise. \nThe bids began Jan. 3 and will continue until 4 p.m. Jan. 17. All bids are accepted at the store, located at 2931 E. 10th St. \nJoe Goss, director of materials management, said the IU Surplus Store only conducts sealed bids when the store acquires larger more or expensive merchandise that people might not otherwise purchase. \n“I think (the auction) is good because not a lot of students know about it,” said Neil Perry, Collins LLC instructor. “It may be a good way to get business.” \nThe merchandise at the IU Surplus Store comes from more than 100 IU departments, store manager Jim McAuley said. \nOnly certain items can be bid on, McAuley said. These items vary from microscopes to computers, Goss said. \nCustomers can come into the store during its regular operating hours and fill out a bid form that will then be sealed. On Jan. 17, all sealed bids will be opened and the item will go to whoever has the highest bid, Goss said.\nAccording to a press release from the IU Surplus Store, whichever customer wins has one week to pay and pick up the item. If the item is not picked up, it will be sold when the store conducts another sealed bid auction. None of the merchandise can be returned and there are no warranties that come along with items. \nAlthough the IU Surplus Store holds a sealed bid every six to eight weeks, the store typically makes more money from customers buying the merchandise regularly. \n“Sealed bids are an extremely minor part of what we do,” Goss said. \nMcAuley said all items up for bid are being displayed in the back of the warehouse until the bidding period ends. The store will only accept checks or money orders for bid payments.
(01/07/08 9:01am)
While most students were recovering from finals, 120 students kicked off their winter break by spending six days in Mississippi and Louisiana.\nWith financial assistance from the IU Student Association, IU’s Youth Advocating Leadership and Learning organization took about 120 students on its seventh trip to help with the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Sixty students went to Biloxi, Miss., while 60 students made the trip to New Orleans.\nSenior Mike Deranek, executive committee member of Y’ALL, said this was his sixth time going to the Hurricane Katrina relief area with the group.\nDeranek said he loves going to help with the relief efforts because of the group dynamic that is formed.\n“There were 60 young people that were willing to (give up) a week to help those in need,” Deranek said. “Every one of them, through the good and the bad times, was able to smile.”\nY’ALL was formed in 2005 when 200 IU students went to Mississippi to help the relief effort after Hurricane\nKatrina destroyed or damaged many areas that year, Deranek said.\nThe group focused on areas in Mississippi such as Biloxi, Ocean Springs and Pass Christian. The areas were severely damaged by the hurricane but were not receiving media attention, Deranek said.\nIU senior Malia Foytich also went to Biloxi with Y’ALL this past winter break. For Foytich, the most memorable part of the trip was seeing the progress made when the group cleared an entire block that had not been touched since the hurricane hit.\nStudents helped demolish a house, did yard work, put up dry wall and painted the exterior, Deranek said. Y’ALL volunteers helped draw media attention back to the relief effort in Biloxi, which made more volunteers come out to help, Deranek said.\nWhile students were transforming a street block in Biloxi, the other 60 Y’ALL members assisted with the hurricane relief effort in New Orleans. \nThere, the students spent six days working with local agencies such as the food bank and animal shelters, Evan Holloway, senior and co-founder of Y’ALL , said.\nDespite less manual labor in New Orleans, Holloway said he loved going to help in any way he could with the relief effort.\n“New Orleans has some of the nicest people you will ever meet,” Holloway said. “They feel forgotten about and that the rest of the country is moving on. Any time they find volunteers, they are excited and grateful.”\nIn order to make the trip possible, Y’ALL teamed up with the University of Louisiana at Monroe relief and Hands On New Orleans, Deranek said. Y’ALL also received financial assistance from the IU Student Association.\nDeranek, Foytich and Holloway encourage any IU student to get involved with the organization.\n“I love it and encourage any student who has thought about it to do it because it is one of the most eye-opening experiences that I (have) had,” Foytich said.\nThe organization plans to take spring break and May trips, Holloway said. Call-out meetings for the organization will be held at the end of January.
(01/07/08 5:24am)
State workers are slated to receive a salary increase in 2008, and a new program means the size of raises will depend on how employers evaluate workers’ performances.\nThe increase in wages is part of the Pay-for-Performance program set forth by Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2006. The program affected the salaries of state workers in 2007, said Gary Abell, spokesman for the governor’s office. \n“It’s the rule in life that those working the hardest and getting the best results are rewarded more than those doing a poor job, but Indiana state government, until now, didn’t apply that rule,” said Daniels in a press release from the governor’s office. “The best public servants deserve the best pay.”\nPrior to the Pay-for-Performance program, all workers would receive the same wage increase every year, Abell said.\nWorkers employed by the state will receive a 1.5 percent increase in their wage, said Brad Rateike, spokesman for the governor’s office. The percentage was configured with the rising cost of living in mind, Abell said. \nSupervisors will then complete evaluations of all workers, Abell said. Those evaluations will be looked over by higher-ranking state officials, Abell said. These assessments will determine what extra percentage workers will receive in their wage. \nIf workers “meet expectations” in their evaluations, they will receive an extra 3 percent. If workers “exceed expectations,” they will receive an additional 8.5 percent increase. Thus, a worker’s wage can increase by a total of 10 percent, Rateike said.\n“We have been able to attract a lot of good employees because of Pay-for-Performance,” Abell said. “We have been able to attract people to particular careers when we have been in need of additional (workers).”\nAbell also credits the new program for an increase in worker motivation. \nThe increase in wages was made possible by decreasing the number of state workers. For example, if the state was working in conjunction with a private company on a project, the state used to employ many of the workers. Private companies now employ many of these workers, Rateike said. \nAccording to a chart from the governor’s office, benefits have also increased since the Pay-for-Performance program was first created.
(12/06/07 4:48am)
Just a bus ride away from the hustle and bustle of campus is the IU Surplus Store. \nThe store is located inside the IU Warehouse at 2931 E. 10th St. and has been around for about 10 years. It offers used IU furniture such as tables, desks and couches for less than $100.\nJoe Goss, director of the University Printing Services and Materials Management, said computers are the store’s most popular items. The store offers computers such as the iMac GT for only $475 and a Dell computer for $325.\nAll of the store’s merchandise comes from various IU departments, Goss said. Money made on merchandise is given back to the department from which it came.\n“The purpose (of the IU Surplus Store) was to provide a way for the University to get rid of its surplus merchandise,” Goss said. \nMerchandise also comes from departments from other IU regional campuses such as IU-Kokomo and IU-Southeast.\nGoss said he would like to see the rest of the regional campuses use the Surplus Store as a means to get rid of some of their old merchandise. The only other regional campus that currently has its own surplus store is IU-Purdue University Indianapolis. \nYet, few IU students even know about the store.\nSophomore Jake Merten and graduate student Michael Lewis did not even know the store existed. Both students said they believe the lack of advertisement around campus is the reason students do not know about it.\nGoss said the store does a good deal of advertising. Still, only 10 percent of the store’s customers are IU faculty members and students, Goss said. \nJim McAuley, store manager, said the average Surplus Store customer is usually looking for a bargain.\n“For the most part, the public is looking for new versus used stuff,” McAuley said. “Our used office merchandise is better than Wal-Mart.” \nDespite having low prices year round, the Surplus Store annually has one back-to-school sale, where all of the merchandise is marked down, Goss said.\nCurrently, the merchandise is only available in the store. However, a few items are occasionally sold on eBay, Goss said. \nThe IU Surplus Store is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
(12/03/07 3:51am)
Monroe County is slated to be the first county in Indiana to launch a new computerized system for court cases, starting Dec. 17. \nThe new system, named “Odyssey,” is meant to simplify the court’s everyday tasks. It is the first step in the Indiana Supreme Court’s plan to switch all counties to an electronic system in the future. \n“It is a way for them to not track all the cases that are filed and all the different hearings, but (it) actually uses this application to more efficiently handle the cases,” said Mary DePrez, director and counsel for trial court technology.\nThe Indiana Supreme Court decided to switch over to the new computerized system so that one day all counties in Indiana will be able to look up cases in the computer and communicate through this system. \nThe idea of a computerized court system was first introduced to the Indiana Supreme Court in 2001. But due to problems with vendors, the project was unable to successfully surface until now, DePrez said.\nThe new system will also help the court communicate with the sheriff and jail more efficiently to handle the different cases, Monroe County Circuit Judge Francie Hill said.\nMonroe County was chosen as a pilot for the Odyssey program because all of the county’s judges have been involved in trying to improve the judicial system, DePrez said. Marion County will also be one of the first counties to use this new technology. \nAlthough a computerized system of this sort is new to Indiana, other states, such as Minnesota and New Hampshire, have been using similar systems for years, DePrez said. \nBut the technology is not perfect. For example, Odyssey does not include a way for the probation office to be involved in the new system, said Linda Brady, chief probation officer for Monroe County.\n“We are working with them to help develop a probation module,” Brady said. \nIt will take time to adapt to the new system, Hill said. \n“Everyone knows that it is going to take three to five months to really get comfortable,” Hill said. “(The software company) will continue to adapt the system to our needs.”
(11/28/07 4:56am)
Beginning in fall 2008, students at Bloomington High School North and Bloomington High School South will be able to obtain college credit through the new Bloomington Early College Program. \nThe program will allow high school students to take IU or Ivy Tech Community College classes, either by going to the campuses or by having professors come teach within the school. The purpose of the program is to increase the number of first-generation college students and encourage students who come from low-income families to go onto college after high school, said Jim Harvey, superintendent of the Monroe County Community School Corporation.\n“We want to encourage and support that and help make it possible,” Harvey said.\nThe Bloomington Early College Program was established after both schools received recommendations from an outside source that the program would benefit high school students by helping them transition from high school to a higher education, Harvey said. \nBoth IU and Ivy Tech are working closely with the Monroe County school system for this program, said Nancy Frost, assistant dean for academic affairs at Ivy Tech.\n“We are very enthusiastic for first-time college attendees to be part of this program,” Frost said. \nAlthough the program is aimed at low income and first-generation students, anyone can take the classes, Harvey said.\nThe program will be open to everyone at the high school level, including high school freshmen, Frost said. The number of students who will be able to participate in this program depends on the number of applicants.\nStudents in these “cross-walk courses” will receive credit at both the high school and collegiate levels, Frost said. Other details of the program are currently being worked out, Harvey said. \nHarvey would ideally like accredited faculty members from IU or Ivy Tech to teach college classes at the high schools. However, it is possible for students to take regular college classes at either the IU or Ivy Tech campus. \nThe new program is currently working with a $50,000 government grant, Harvey said. As of now, the grant will only cover the students’ tuition costs, so students would have to buy the textbooks required for these courses. If students choose to take these classes at the IU campus or the Ivy Tech campus, transportation would also be left up to the individual student.
(11/14/07 4:07am)
The Union Board puts on weekly events for all IU students. But the organization’s representatives say few IU students vote for the people who are planning these events.\nUnion Board President and senior Sarah McDonough said that each year, the percentage of IU students who vote during the Union Board elections is low compared to the number of students on campus. McDonough said she thinks this might be because not a lot of people know when the elections are held. \nThursday was the deadline for all interested IU students to submit applications to be Union Board directors. Starting at 5 p.m. Nov. 27 – the Tuesday after Thanksgiving Break – and ending at 5 p.m. Nov. 28, all undergraduate and graduate IU students will be able to vote electronically to elect the Union Board directors. \n“(Students) probably don’t know the purpose of (the Union Board),” said sophomore Everett Scisney. Scisney said he plans to vote for the Union Board members because he voted last year. \nJunior Kizzi Starr Little said she does not plan to vote because the elections do not matter to her. \nRun by students, the Union Board organizes events at the Indiana Memorial Union and around campus, such as the movies that are shown at the Whittenberger Auditorium. \nThe Union Board is composed of 16 directors who are all students. IU students vote to elect eight of them. The current Union Board selects the other eight board members after the candidates go through an interview process. \nOnce the new Union Board is put together, members decide among themselves who will serve as president, vice president for programming and vice president for membership. \nEach board member will be on the board for one full calendar year. All candidates must still remain IU students while in office. Once elected, the new directors will officially begin their terms Jan. 19, 2008. \nMcDonough, who is not eligible to run in the upcoming elections, advises future Union Board directors to enjoy their time on the board because it flew by for her. \n“After being on the board for two years, I learned so many skills,” McDonough said. “I learned so many things that I did not even realize that I was learning.”
(11/08/07 3:38am)
Sex Week at the Collins Living-Learning Center kicked off Sunday with a screening of “Kinsey,” a movie about the famous IU sex researcher. The week’s sex-related festivities will continue until Monday.\n“Sex is something that at this age we think a lot about,” Collins residential assistant Esther Hunt said. “There is a lot of misinformation about sex and that it just seems like there was time to get some programming to just get people actively talking about it in a way that let them learn new stuff.”\nAll of the programs were put together by different RAs. \nMost of the programs, such as “Sex Education and Healthy Relationships,” are open to the public but others such as the Kinsey Institute tour are exclusively for Collins residents. Fee money paid by all Collins residents funds the events that are not open to the public. \nFreshman Christopher Heinrich does not reside in Collins but still went to “Sex Education and Healthy Relationships” and plans to go to a few other events during Sex Week. Although he felt that the program was based too much on people who have a highly-active sex life, he feels like the information was important and necessary. \n“A lot of Collins kids seem more open with themselves and possibly more mature,” Heinrich said. “So a sensitive subject, such as sexual education, is easier to talk about with the Collins kids. I think it is information that should be available to all IU students.”\nSex Week at Collins is set apart from the rest of the sex-related events on campus because the activities go beyond just talking about STDs and the consequences of indulging in sex, Hunt said. The events put more focus on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues and on actual relationships as oppose to other programs about sex that are held on campus.\nFor more information on Sex Week events contact the Collins Center Desk.
(11/05/07 3:30am)
In 1999, Bloomington became the fourth city in the U.S. to have a sister city in Cuba, but for most people “family” visits are unlikely.\nBut local group CUBAmistad, which helped establish and maintain the sister city relationship, is working to aid Cubans in Santa Clara and to educate Bloomington residents about Cuba. However, the group has faced difficulties in trying to work with a country` the U.S. government has embargoed since 1961. \nAmericans cannot travel to Cuba without acquiring a license from the U.S. government. If caught traveling to Cuba without a license, a U.S. citizen can face up to 10 years in prison and large fines, according to the U.S. State Department Web site.\nMembers of CUBAmistad said the group’s main mission is to education Bloomington residents about Cuba. The group claims that the U.S. has many misconceptions about Cubans and hopes to change this. \n“Cubans are just people,” said Mike Gasser, a CUBAmistad member.\nGasser also emphasizes that the organization is more culturally driven than politically. \nOne of its duties is to gather a list of items that are requested by residents of Santa Clara. These items are usually things such as medical books, medicine and various foods that Santa Clara residents cannot get because of the embargo.\n“It affects the young, the old and the infirmed – the people least able to work against the blockade,” group member Ned Powell said. \nThe items are donated by various people, Powell said. They are usually not personally delivered by CUBAmistad.\nThe group works closely with Pastors for Peace, which goes to Cuba more often. Many times, the group sends the items that were requested via Pastors for Peace. \nThe last time the group traveled to Cuba collectively was in 2003, because it has now become more difficult to acquire the licenses needed to travel. The group in Cuba that deals with the sister city project has never been able to come to Bloomington.\nCUBAmistad educates Bloomington residents about Cuba through a film series that it and other IU-affiliated groups sponsor, and through a display case describing Bloomington’s sister city inside of city hall. \nThe group will also sponsor a photo exhibit that will be open in City Hall today. The photo exhibit, “Who will take my ashes to Cuba?” will premiere today at 6:30, but it will be available for public viewing all month long. \nThe group would ideally like to create some sort of exchange program between IU and the University “Marta Abreu” of Las Villas in Santa Clara. However, this project has become increasingly difficult because of the U.S. foreign policies dealing with Cuba, \nPowell said. \nAlthough Powell and other members CUBAmistad members Ann Schepper and Cynthia Roberts–Hall admit that it is challenging to get everything the group hopes to get accomplished because things quickly become political, the group stays intact because of Cubans themselves, they said.\n“Cuba’s natural resource is the people,” said Powell.\nAnyone can become a member of CUBAmistad. Meetings are held at 5:30 on the first Wednesday of every month at Soma Coffee House, located on 322 E. Kirkwood Ave.
(10/26/07 4:18am)
Friday’s annual Festival of Ghost Stories will weave tales of Native American hauntings and gigantic rats this Friday. \nFor 30 years, the event– sponsored by the city of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, the Monroe County Public Library and the Storytellers’ Guild – has brought in 250 to 500 Bloomington residents. The sponsors hope this year is no different. \nThe event will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday in Lower Cascades Park, located at 2851 N. Old State Road 37. In case of rain, the event will be moved to the Monroe County Public Library, said Margaret Harter, community relations coordinator for the Monroe County Public Library. \nThe Bloomington Storytellers’ Guild will bring these ghostly tales to life. Ten different storytellers will read an original story they wrote or recite a traditional story, said Sarah Nix, the community events specialist for city parks and recreation. \nJosh Wolf, library manager of children services at the Monroe County Public Library, is one of the storytellers who will be performing Friday. Wolf, who has been a member of the Guild for about six years, will tell the ancient folktale of a man whose godfather was death. Although his story is not an original piece of work, other storytellers do have original stories that will be heard at the festival. \n“There is a serious desire for (storytelling),” Wolf said. The Guild has been keeping that tradition alive by participating in events such as the Festival of Ghost Stories since 1973. Many of the storytellers who will be performing this Friday also perform individually at various events. \nThe topics of the stories will consist of typical Halloween topics such as the supernatural, ghosts and horror, said Ginny Richey, who is also part of the Storytellers’ Guild. For example, there will be a story about oversized rats that live in graveyards. \nThe festival is a free event for all Bloomington residents. Free cider will also be provided for the audience. In between the stories, a musician will sing Halloween-themed stories to help set the spooky mood for this event.\nAlthough this is a family event, Harter and Wolf both strongly recommended that young children do not attend due to the content of the stories. The stories are aimed at an older, teen-to-adult audience.\n“I just enjoy seeing the community come together and enjoy the park in late October,” Nix said. “It is nice to see people in the park enjoying the great fall weather and enjoying the stories.”
(10/18/07 4:01am)
Hidden behind the audio-visual department of the Monroe County Public Library’s first floor is a bookstore filled with bargains few IU students \nknow about. \nThis Saturday, the bookstore will kick off its clearance sale weekend. All overstock items not currently on the shelf will be on sale for about less than a dollar. \nThe following Monday, what was not sold over the weekend will be given out for free. \nAlthough the bookstore has been around for about two years, few people know about the bargains it has to offer, bookstore volunteer Barbara Wilcox said. \n“I had no idea that it (the bookstore) existed,” IU senior Gwendolyn Humphreys said. “I have a library card but I haven’t been to the library in some \ntime now.”\nThe bookstore has a small selection of textbooks on sale. All of the books are priced for less than $10 and some are still wrapped in their \noriginal packaging. \nFor example, a textbook bundle for a Spanish class was $6. \nWilcox said that many people go into the store daily to take advantage of the cheap textbook prices and then later online to sell the books \nfor profit. \nThe number of textbooks at the bookstore is a small percentage of the bookstore’s collection. Most of the books are novels, costing $2 for hardbacks and $1 for paperbacks. The bookstore also has a variety of magazines that are always 25 cents. Vinyl records are sold three-for-$1 while DVDs and VHS tapes are \nall $1.50. \nItems sold at the bookstore vary day to day because they are donations from the community or the library. Wilcox said all the books go through a selective process to ensure they are in good quality and undamaged. Books the store receives that are too old are put in a free section in \nthe store. \nThe organization Friends of the Library sponsors the bookstore. All money made from the bookstore goes back to the library to support \nvarious programs. \nMost of the people who regularly go into the bookstore are local Bloomington residents such as Angie Cantrell. \n“It’s a good bargain,” Cantrell said. “The magazines are a great buy because they have gotten so expensive. Here it’s for a quarter and they often have recent ones.”\nAlthough the bookstore is literally a bookstore, Wilcox claims it is much more \nthan that. \n“We are not a business, we are a service,” said Wilcox. She mentioned a woman from Korea who has been going to the bookstore daily to buy children’s books for her family back home. \nThe Monroe County Public Library Bookstore is only open Tuesday, Thursday \nand Saturday. \nHowever, it is worth checking out if you are looking for an inexpensive way to get your hands on the latest Rolling Stone Magazine, Backstreet Boys “For the Fans” CD, or a copy of the “A Fine Balance” by Rohinton Mistry, a former Oprah’s book club book. \n“The bargain is in the eye of the beholder,” said Wilcox.
(09/24/07 12:22am)
Belly dancers, magicians, jugglers and musicians gathered Saturday at the John Waldron Arts Center for the two-hour Bloomington Variety Show sponsored by the Bloomington Area Arts Council and the Bloomington Musicians and Songwriters Association.\nMaking a comeback due to its popularity in the ’70s, the variety show brought in guests ranging from IU students to Bloomington locals of all ages.\nEveryone was in on the action – even host Kevin Holladay performed magic tricks in between the acts. Producer Marc Haggerty said the show was a collaborative effort to change the way people see art in Bloomington. \n“Most shows are fairly boring now,” Haggerty said. “I wanted to do something that was more entertaining.”\nThe show was interactive, using audience members to help performers on stage.\nThe talent of the performers varied. For 17-year-old Evan Voss, the variety show was his first performance outside of high school talent shows. But for hoop performer and crowd favorite Christopher Lemmon, who is also 17 years old, it was just one of many performances.\n“I have an audition for Cirque du Soleil in early November,” Lemmon said. “So far my career is going pretty well.”\nThe dynamic that this diverse group of performers created was demonstrated in the last song, “I’ll Fly Away,” performed by the singing duo Stella & Jane.. All of the performers and audience members joined the pair during their act. \nHaggerty admitted that the variety show was not easy to pull off. For him, it was well worth the work, he said, because it is important for the community to get involved and support each other. He hopes that variety shows will help the Bloomington community come together to make the town a more art-savvy place.\nSome audience members said they came to see the show out of sheer curiosity about what it had to offer. The performers and sponsors hope to make the variety show an annual event in Bloomington.\n“People are way too focused on TV and things that have no relation to their hometowns and their lives,” said IU senior Justin Pollard. “I think that having a variety show like this is nice because it brings people back to their old communities and back to the people who live around them instead of looking at a box all day.”
(09/20/07 2:56am)
Two greek organizations on campus share the goal of developing their members both socially and professionally. \nThe co-ed business fraternities Alpha Kappa Psi and Delta Sigma Pi completed their induction ceremonies this week. With roughly 60 greek organizations at IU, these fraternities strive to be different from all the rest. \n“First of all, most fraternities don’t have the real professional aspects like all of the workshops and professional developments things that we do for all our members,” said Alpha Kappa Psi member and IU senior David Campbell.\nLast year’s special events for Delta Sigma Pi consisted of several guest speakers, including Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and business roundtable discussions, said Delta Sigma Pi Vice President junior Tina Wink. \nAlpha Kappa Psi holds various self-improvement workshops throughout the year for its members on topics such as interviewing skills, resume writing and professional wardrobe. \nTo become a member of a business fraternity, a student must be pursuing a business major or minor or have a business-related major. Members must also have three full semesters left as an undergraduate upon induction and are required to complete casual and professional interviews. A 2.8 grade point average is also an important requirement for people who are thinking about pledging for Alpha Kappa Psi.\nUnlike most fraternities, neither of these business fraternities have “fraternity houses” on campus. \n“The non-residential aspect is also nice,” junior Val Agnew said, a current membership chair in Alpha Kappa Psi. “It is not as binding; we separate our lives from Alpha Kappa Psi if we need to, even though I do see my friends outside of Alpha Kappa Psi events. It really is my decision, and a lot of us to live do live together, but it’s by our own choice.”\nAlong with not having an official house, Wink said that what makes Delta Sigma Pi stand out from the other greek houses on campus is that their fraternity is diverse, especially since it is co-ed. \n“The difference is the brotherhood, which is impossible to explain until you see it,” senior Katie Krengel, president of Delta Sigma Pi, said.\nThe process to join either organization is similar to that required to join standard Greek organizations, which typically consists of participating rush week. Alpha Kappa Psi and Delta Sigma Pi will have another rush week during the first week of January 2008.\nAnother benefit of joining a business fraternity rather than a non-business Greek organization is the long list of alumni who hold jobs business students might be interested in, Campbell said.\n“... It’s such a great organization. It’s been the best decision that I have made in college,” Campbell said. “I met so many great people and have learned so much about so many different things. It’s been a great way to get involved.”
(09/13/07 2:40am)
Food plays a role in the life of every student, which is why it is no surprise that H204: Politics of Food is a popular choice for Hutton Honors College students.\nFood editor at Bloom Magazine and H204 professor Christine Barbour developed the idea for the course four years ago, after her husband suggested that she combine her passions for politics and food. She said the government could be doing a better job of giving advice on healthy eating to the public.\n“A lot of the wording that comes from the federal regulations about eating is a result of being worked over by many different groups who have a vested economic interest it what we eat,” Barbour said. “It is not for our good health, it’s for the good of these different groups.”\nDanielle Wilks, a junior who took the course two years ago, said she already knew there was a connection between food and politics because she had done a project about it in high school. But the course reinforced the idea that “so much more of food, hard facts, and politics really has a hand in what we’re eating,” she said.\nThe idea of combining politics and food may sound strange, but Barbour said it’s perfectly normal.\n“This course is a good way of understanding the political process through reading about something that we all need for our basic lives, which is food. So it takes politics which sometimes seems like it is removed from us, like it is way out there, like its not related to our lives, and it brings it home,” said Barbour.\nStudents in H204 learn about food and policy, the food lobbying industry and the Slow Food Movement, which emphasizes eating local and seasonal foods. Above all, Barbour said she wants students to think more critically about the food they eat.\n“In a perfect world, I would think that students should eat food that is not processed, that is made from ingredients that come roughly within 100 miles and that tastes really delicious so that they can start to develop a taste for great food,” Barbour said. \nBarbour said the class also emphasizes the relationship between family and food. Frequently, people establish an emotional connection with the food they eat based on personal experiences and traditions, she said.\nTo emphasize that fact, Barbour created an assignment where students make a “food tree diagram” of foods they ate when they were growing up.\nSophomore Sara Whitmer, another former student of the class, said that was her favorite part of the course.\n“It was interesting, I got to learn about food traditions and my family and how we look at food and special recipes that have been passed down to my family,” Whitmer said.\nWhile students define their own history with food, Barbour also emphasizes the history of food politics in the U.S.. For instance, immigrants used to be told to abandon their own culinary traditions and embrace more Americanized foods, she said.\nBy the end of the course, Barbour hopes that her students have a better understanding of the complexities of food.\n“If they’re interested in knowing how food plays out in our political process as one of the stakes that people are after,” Barbour said, “then this would be a good course to take.”