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(01/20/04 5:18am)
The anticipation was breathtaking at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Monday night, as a packed hall rustled, whispered and shook with song in preparation for a keynote address not soon to be forgotten. Children from University Elementary School lined the walls, members of the IU African American Choral Ensemble filled the space backstage and an audience exemplifying Bloomington's racial and cultural diversity jammed into whatever vacant house seats it could find. \nAmong the others sitting in the theater, Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan was there. IU president Adam Herbert sat with his wife, Karen, on stage right. Ivy Tech Chancellor John Whikehart offered opening remarks. Members of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners dotted the Buskirk's front rows. \nThe keynote speaker they were waiting for was Dr. Michael V.W. Gordon, a septuagenarian whose return to "sweet Bloomington" two years after his retirement from the IU School of Music faculty and as Dean of Students was heralded by a standing-room only crowd hanging on his every word -- spoken or sung. His remarks formed the crux of the community's capstone celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and legacy, following a day of service in the greater Bloomington area. \nHe spoke of themes common to every man, regardless of color, race or gender, and expounded upon the dual fates of "two little black boys" born in 1920s America, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. \nThough each sprung from decidedly different origins -- Martin to a upper-middle class family of relative privilege, with formal education at several prestigious institutions and schools of divinity, and Malcolm to a Nebraskan family entangled in domestic violence and wrought with the wrath of the Ku Klux Klan -- the pair nevertheless found a common ground in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. \nKing, born Michael, and the son of a Georgia Baptist minister, adopted the name the world would come to know after reading treatises authored by Martin Luther, who spearheaded the Reformation of the Catholic Church. Malcolm, influenced largely by his experiences with the Nation of Islam in Detroit, similarly adopted the moniker 'X', abandoning his last name of Little. \nBoth were icons of contemporary African-American culture, Gordon asserted. Martin became a "pivotal figure in the civil rights movement" and was arrested 30 times for his involvement in civil rights activism. Malcolm X, though initially opposed to the idea whites could possess any sort of moral conscious and who once believed only revolution could lead to the correct placement of blacks in society, eventually recognized civil rights as synonymous with human rights. \n"Because I grew up in the segregated South...I, like so many, admired both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King for the way the preached," Gordon said. "Both promoted self-knowledge and responsibility for cultural history as the basis for unity."\nGordon, Professor Emeritus of the School of Music, retired after serving IU for 26 years. He received a B.S. from Virginia State University, a Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and obtained Masters and Doctorate of Education from the Columbia University Graduate School of Education, Teachers College. He served IU as both professor and administrator, as Vice Chancellor and Dean of Students from 1981 to 1991. \nHe established such programs as the IU chapters of Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students and Students Against Drunk Driving, the Alcohol-Drug Information Center, the Foster International Living-Learning Center and the Student Advocates Office. He was honored with the Herman Wells Image Award in 2000. \nElizabeth Mitchell, a member of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration Commission who helped plan the event, said she hopes members of the community will respond to yesterday's festivities -- as well as the very man who inspired them -- because of the lessons King's example held up to American society.\n"If people don't care about Dr. King, they should, because of the person he is," Mitchell said. "He made changes -- he showed Americans that what they were doing was wrong and that they could not continue down that same path...He shows us that it only takes one person to get the ball rolling."\nDarrell Ann Stone of the IU Student Activities Office echoed Mitchell's sentiments. \n"We visit the portals of the past over, and over to feel inspirational words (to) feed out heart and soul," Stone said. "On this day, we are not silent. We are alive with sound, and centered on all that matters."\n-- Contact senior writer Holly Johnson at hljohnso@indiana.edu.
(01/20/04 4:45am)
According to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the number of college students who illegally swap files on the Web has dropped by more than half during the past year, and IU statistics obtained from University Information Technology Services seem to be consistent with this trend. \nMerri Beth Lavagnino, deputy IT policy officer for UITS, said IU received 263 copyright infringement notices during the months of August through September 2003, down from 435 during the 2002 fall semester.\nUITS keeps notices it receives from copyright holders concerning alleged infringements and tracks the records of what actions were taken in response to each notice. However, discrepancies may exist if copyright holders are sending fewer notices than last year; thus, a direct causal relationship between legislation levied by such groups as the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America cannot be formed in certainty.\n"We are only counting the number of notices we received from copyright holders," Lavagnino said. "Thus, our figures reflect the effort the copyright holders are taking to identify and then send notices. The numbers are down from last year. Whether that means there is less file sharing or that the copyright holders are just sending fewer notices, I can't say."\nAn earlier Pew study relating to such findings was released in spring 2003, shortly after the recording industry announced it would take legal action against illegal file sharers. A fifth of the 1,358 Internet users sampled in this fall's survey, the results of which were released earlier this month, say they download and swap files less frequently because of such law suits. \nLee Rainie, the Pew project's director, said the survey was spawned in reaction to the interest in how the recording industry's suits were affecting downloading practices. He claims the decrease in illegal downloading is unprecedented.\n"We have never seen an activity drop off like this," Rainie told The Chronicle of Higher Education earlier this month. \nThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that fast-track subpoena provisions of 1998's Digital Millennium Copyright Act did not apply in instances where the copyrighted material is stored on computers beyond the grasp of an Internet service provider. This dealt a potentially crippling blow to communications giants and recording corporations seeking to stem the number of illegal downloaders. \nRecording industry groups had previously relied on premises of the DMCA to gain fast access to the specific names of thousands of suspected illegal file sharers in American universities. Without the fast-track provision, such groups would have to utilize only Internet addresses of users' computers. \nSchool of Journalism professor Amy Reynolds said she believes many students blur the distinction between what is legal and what their personal perceptions are concerning copyright law. \n"It seems like a simple issue, but in actuality it's a very complicated one," Reynolds said. "Because of the structure within the recording industry, it's often unclear if a label such as Sony agrees with the stance of a particular artist in regard to file sharing."\nReynolds said the complicated licensing structure involved in music and video copyrighting may often mislead students. \n"A lot of the reason students don't understand copyright involves the context of this legislation," she said. "It's looking at why we value copyright and the protection of creative property."\nSome universities, most notably Pennsylvania, have begun offering filesharing applications like Napster to its students, subsidized by a blanket technology fee. The Penn State action to subsidize Napster essentially works as a mechanism to prevent students from downloading music for which they have not paid. \nReynolds hesitates to speculate as to whether IU could ever move toward such a service. \n"File sharing isn't illegal when it's done in the appropriate way," she said. "People have just gotten used to doing it for free."\nLavagnino said students should note IU is not targeting them rather, University Technological Services processes notices sent by copyright holders as defined by the DMCA. \nIndividuals who receive infringement notices are directed to follow specific University procedures and must take an online tutorial and quiz. Dean of Students Richard McKaig told the IDS last March IU will "aggressively punish" students who continue to illegally use peer-to-peer programs.
(01/20/04 4:15am)
For 21 years, IU students have been getting it every night. Or at least that's what local fast-food bastion Pizza Express would say, more than 4 million pizzas after Jeff Mease and Jeff Hamlin first opened their doors to the Bloomington community. \nAnd now the Bloomington pizza staple has hit Indianapolis. Located at 923 Indiana Ave., just minutes from the IUPUI campus, the state capital's first Pizza Express promises consistency in flavor, price and brand, said Gabe Connell, co-owner of the Indianapolis location. \nThe original Pizza Express opened in 1982 and offered from its outset such favorites as the Big Ten Special and the Volume Deal, promising to feed hungry college kids on the cheap. \nChief operating officer Hamlin, also a former manager of Nick's English Hut, started the chain with then-IU student Mease, who later served as a part-time delivery driver for the franchise, according to a 1987 IDS article. \nConnell and partners Adam Mears and Jim Siegel, both IU-Bloomington alums, approached One World Enterprise, owner of Pizza Express, as well as several other Bloomington eateries, with the proposal to open an Indianapolis location last year. \n"We went to Jeff Mease and Jeff Hamlin and told them that we loved Pizza Express and the brand and wanted to bring it to Indianapolis," Connell said. "From there, we worked together on growing the Pizza Express brand and opening the first location."\nThe trio encountered very few speed bumps along the way, Connell said.\n"A lot of it was based on gut feelings," he said. "We knew that we were huge fans, and we knew a lot of fans and fellow alumni in the Indy (area) are huge fans of Pizza Express. It's strange to have a pizza shop have such a loyal following, and we felt it was a natural progression to bring it to Indy with so many Bloomington connections here."\nThe Bloomington Pizza Express sells between 6,000 and 6,500 pizzas per month, said Hamlin. The Indianapolis proprietors are determined to replicate its success. Business has been "extremely good" since the Jan. 9 opening, said Mitch Payne, general manager of the Indianapolis store.\n"We've done very limited marketing, pretty much word-of-mouth stuff," Payne said. "There's definitely been a lot of IUPUI students in and ordering."\nThough the store had a soft opening earlier this month, Connell said marketing will be stepped up in the coming months. The ever-present Express Man, a favorite at IU tailgates and campus events, has made his mark at several Indianapolis events and on campus at IUPUI. \n"The brand in Bloomington is really based on aggressive marketing," Connell said. "Everything that's done in Bloomington will be done here as well. Everything will stay consistent, from the taste of the breadstick to the ranch dressing to the image and the brand."\n--Contact senior writer Holly Johnson at hljohnso@indiana.edu.
(01/13/04 6:21am)
IU senior Paul Musgrave has had a busy year.\nBetween compiling research on Herman B Wells' contributions to the Indiana banking industry, completing honors theses in history and political science and founding an alternative student online newspaper, the Wells Scholar and Evansville native managed to achieve basic proficiency in three languages and prepare for an upcoming semester in Shanghai, China. \nMusgrave quotes Marcel Proust on his personal Web page and served as a CommUnity educator and diversity coordinator for Read Center. \nAnd most recently, he was named one of 12 national George J. Mitchell Scholars. \nThe fellowship, created in 1998 and sponsored by the U.S.-Ireland Alliance, honors exceptional American scholars who exhibit a dedication to academic pursuits, leadership opportunities and community service. It is named for former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, who engineered the Northern Ireland peace process in the late 1990s.\nFellowship recipients are expected to complete an M.A. thesis over the course of the 2004-05 academic year. Musgrave, who studied political science, history and economics at IU, plans to delve into the similarities and parallels between the agricultural economies of Ireland and those of Midwestern states like Indiana.\n"Ireland is a very economically dynamic country, and it interests me because it is traditionally a very agricultural and conservative state," he said. "Indiana, of course, is much the same way. There are some parallels there, some opportunities that Ireland may have taken that other Midwestern states really haven't taken advantage of. I want to see how the government managed to spark growth there and see if there are any lessons we can take from that."\nAlthough Musgrave said he has little to no background in Irish history, he is himself of Irish heritage. He has been keeping up with Irish and, more broadly, European events over the past few years, tracking affairs on the Continent and, as he says, "hearing only good things coming out of Ireland."\nHe'll be studying at University College Dublin, located in the center of the Irish capital city. Because of his interests in government affairs and politics, and since Mitchell scholars traditionally complete internships with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and media corporations, Musgrave hopes to work for a member of the Irish Parliament. \nMusgrave first considered the fellowship in August, when Charlene Brown, associate director of the Wells Scholars Program and a longtime mentor, suggested applying. Initially, he wasn't sure he'd be a strong candidate -- an opinion not widely shared among those University faculty with whom he's worked. \n"I was very surprised when (Dean of the IU School of Journalism) Trevor (Brown) called to say I was nominated for all three (the Marshall, Rhodes and Mitchell fellowships)," Musgrave said. "I was rejected from the Marshall, the only people whose estimate I agreed with of my own abilities."\nHowever, IU professor James Madison, also director of the Liberal Arts and Management Program, said that modesty belies Musgrave's intellectual and service interests. Madison first met Musgrave three years ago, when the then-freshman approached him with an interest in Indiana politics Madison said he rarely glimpses in IU undergraduates.\n"It was very clear talking to Paul about politics that he is exceedingly knowledgeable -- a political junkie, actually -- and that he reads widely and deeply, not just at national and global levels but at the state level as well. It's unusual to see someone on Paul's level with that interest and knowledge."\nMadison said Musgrave was always exceedingly modest and never aggressive or arrogant. \n"He's very modest, even a bit on the shy side," Madison said. "He never told me he was a Wells Scholar, for example. Though he does have very deeply held opinions and ideas, he was never anything but modest about them."\nThe Rhodes and Mitchell committees both offered Musgrave an interview. However, the scheduled times conflicted, and he was forced to choose. After careful consultation with Brown, who was part of the IU selection committee that nominated Musgrave, he decided to pursue the Mitchell.\n"It was a better fit for me," Musgrave said. "It's more engaged with the country and politically active. It's a very exciting opportunity, and I'm most proud of the fact that I've been able to help IU's image, which is very important to me. I'm profoundly grateful to the professors who helped me, people who helped me and pushed me into doing this. If not for them, I would not be in this situation at all. I cannot even begin to stress how those individuals helped me. This was not an individual effort, and like any individual or team sport, where there's one guy competing or one team on the court, there's always a support staff, and that's incredibly important."\nMusgrave flew to Washington the week before Thanksgiving to interview in both group and individual settings with the selection committee. He was notified the Monday following his interview that he had been selected. He'll head to Ireland in late September, following a stint with a think tank or policy institute in the District this summer -- but the professors with whom he's worked say they won't soon forget the impact he had on the IU community. \n"I can count on the fingers on one hand students I thought were as good or outstanding as Paul Musgrave," Madison said. "I've had hundreds of really good, excellent students, and I'm talking about a very select few who are beyond exceptional. Paul is one of those students."\nIU professor Jim Capshew, whom Musgrave worked with on a biography of late IU president and chancellor Herman B Wells, agrees. \n"Paul is probably the most outstanding undergrad I've encountered here," he said. "...He's very dedicated academically, but also very interested in helping people out. He's a superb academic scholar but also a good citizen."\nCapshew said that while Musgrave discovered valuable mentors at IU, one of his most important mentors is Herman Wells.\n"Paul discovered in historical study a way of connecting to the best things at the University," Capshew said. "He's a very idealistic person but has a realistic sense of his talents and his drive."\nMusgrave is also an Indiana Daily Student columnist. --Contact senior writer Holly Johnson at hljohnso@indiana.edu.
(10/30/03 5:17am)
Students will be faced with a myriad of opportunities to donate funds to the charities of their choice when logging on to register for classes in the next few weeks. \nUtilizing an innovative check-off system, area philanthropies may solicit student donations during the registration process.\nOne such cause is the IU Student Association rape crisis fund, in which $3 is contributed to Middle Way House, a domestic violence shelter and rape crisis line serving the greater Bloomington area. All donations go into one Student Activities Office account, from which a check is cut. \nThe fund contributed an estimated $27,800 in donations gleaned from student fees to Middle Way last year, according to IUSA estimates.\nThe money doesn't necessarily have to go to the shelter, however. Student Congress must vote on what to do with student donations, but typically, such funding is contributed to the shelter, IUSA Vice President for Congress Grant McFann said. \nMiddle Way economic development coordinator Charlotte Zietlow said the donations are a "hefty amount" and extremely important in maintaining operating expenses for Middle Way's services. Donations are used to finance upkeep of the 24-hour crisis line and phones, case management and to pay staff. \n"It's very hands-on use," Zietlow said. \nThe crisis line originated in the 1980s, at a time when sexual assault and campus safety was particularly prevalent. Middle Way boasts one of the few crisis lines of its kind in Indiana in which a human is always present to answer calls. \n"There was real interest from the University, of course, and there was the decision to implement the rape crisis line at Middle Way," Zietlow said. "There's a lot of concern -- there always has been -- with sexual assault and safety on campus, and apparently that was when the check-off started."\nApplying for check-off status is time-consuming, however, and most groups don't have the time to apply.\nIU Habitat for Humanity is one such group. Mustering the required signatures and social security numbers necessary to propel a group through the initial application stage proved too difficult on numerous occasions for this organization. \n"Getting the signatures requires pretty much going out to classes and making announcements," Habitat for Humanity supervisor Laura Coenig said. "A lot of professors are willing to do it, but it does take time from classes. You have to contact profs beforehand and find people to go to all the classes, and with students, that's just not possible sometimes."\nSecuring check-off funding would optimally allow nearly $90,000 to be allocated for Habitat building activities, if each student donated $3, Coenig said. That figure would facilitate the construction of two houses. \nHabitat does not plan to apply for check-off status this semester, but may consider the possibility in the spring, Coenig said. \nThe check-off system isn't the only avenue of access to student donations, however. The Indiana Public Interest Research Group utilizes a decidedly unique system to receive student funding. \nSince 1997, INPIRG has been directly soliciting voluntary donations from students through face-to-face contact on campus and in the community. Students are asked to charge $5 per semester to their Bursar bill by signing a one-time pledge. \n"Basically the idea is that when you sign the pledge, 10 percent of the student body has to pledge along with you for us to stay here and keep doing public student advocacy," said Megan Foster, INPIRG organizer. "Unless there's a collective decision to have this group here, then we won't be here."\nUtilizing the Bursar pledge system has produced "ideal" fiscal results for the group, Foster claims. \n"To get that many signatures just to have a check-off seems like what we'd not want to do," Foster said.\n-- Contact Weekend Editor in chief Holly Johnson at hljohnso@indiana.edu.
(09/18/03 6:01am)
Hurricane Isabel's threat might be more than 750 miles from IU, but the effects will reach close to home today.\nJunior Lauren Brand is from Virginia Beach, Va. -- one of the cities in the direct path of the hurricane along the eastern seaboard.\n"My whole family is there," Brand said. "My grandparents literally live right on the ocean, and my aunts and uncles are in Virginia Beach -- literally, everyone is there."\nTo the almost 40 miles of coast lining Virginia Beach, a burg whose frequent brushes with hurricanes and tropical storms have led to a certain indifference among locals, the storm's diminishing fury could lead to potentially disastrous results. \nBrand's parents recently moved to a new house directly on the waterfront. Now, mere months after unpacking, the Brands are again gathering their valuables and sentimental possessions -- only this time, they're jamming into inland hotel rooms and suites. Windows are boarded in the Brand home as oil lamps and candles line coffee tables and mantlepieces. Brand's mother has stocked up on flashlights and batteries for her husband and daughter.\nThankfully, Brand says, the offices for her family's furniture business aren't situated on the beachfront.\n"It's a brand new house, so we're hoping everything will stay put," Brand said. "I'm okay; I just don't want them to know I'm nervous, because I'm not there and it's difficult."\nBrand said she expects her entire extended family to stay in hotels farther inland in Virginia until the storm blows through. \n"My mom went down to the beach and said it was really bizarre and eerie," Brand said. "The surf was incredibly high and the winds were just out of control."\nBrand also said her sister's school has been canceled, and her father's furniture stores have closed their doors. \nDespite the threat of Isabel, Brand says she's trying to stay positive.\n"I think they're going to be fine," she said. "I have all of their numbers for their hotel rooms, and hopefully their cell phones will be working. We're trying to call every couple of hours, so I'm pretty optimistic." \nVirginia Beach hasn't suffered the effects of a hurricane on par with Isabel since 1944, according to the National Weather Service. However, hurricanes do approach the resort city at proximities close enough to produce gale-force winds three times every 20 years. \nStill, "it's been a really long time since we had to worry about something," Brand said. "It's usually North Carolina or something, so now we're kind of nervous."\nThe threat is unquestionably greatest at North Carolina's Outer Banks, where Isabel was expected to hit early this morning, according to the NWS Web site. Peaking earlier this week at Category 5 status with winds reaching upwards of 150 miles per hour, Isabel has since downgraded to a Category 2 system. Meteorologists with the NWS expect the storm to achieve landfall near Wilmington in southern North Carolina; from there, Isabel will likely cross middle Virginia, including the greater Washington, D.C. area, and continue into western Pennsylvania.\nSenior Aaron Aft hails from Springfield, Va., a Washington, D.C. suburb, and he said the situation has escalated in the D.C. metro area as Isabel approaches. Rising flood waters and oversaturated soil have forced the dumping of excess water from Baltimore reservoirs into the nearby Hudson River.\n"There is definitely significant concern," Aft said. "It's more on the Maryland side, but there's a concern for the flood waters closer to the Baltimore area."\nMetrorail and Metrobus services in D.C. will shut down at 11 a.m. today, and Washington-area schools and universities have announced closings for Thursday and Friday.\nSenior Phil Mervis, also from the D.C. area, said his family "isn't freaking out" -- yet. \n"We're just going to get wind and rain gusts," Mervis said. "We're not really worried."\n-- Contact staff writer Holly Johnson at hljohnso@indiana.edu.
(08/28/03 6:24am)
This week, I packed up my shoebox others deem a car and made the meandering trip back to Bloomington from my hometown of (prepare yourselves) Evansville, Ind., after more than a year away. \nI spent my junior year -- yes, the entire year -- abroad in Canterbury, England, followed by internships in Evansville and New York. Into those 365-plus days I crammed enough travel (and racked up enough credit card debt) to satisfy my wayward yearnings for at least a few decades. By the time I touched down in Indianapolis in May, I'd grown accustomed to living off the grossly-inflated British pound and wondering why Kylie Minogue's ass was so damn popular among Anglophiles. And during the course of my whirlwind summer, I prepared myself to take the helm of inarguably the best college magazine in the country. \nYes, that's right -- for those of you making your first-year foray into life as a Bloomingtonian (which, trust me, you'll become after inhabiting those dreadful dorms for a few weeks), you'll soon realize we are the premier source for entertainment in Bloomington and beyond. We'll be where you turn to find out what movies bombed in true Gigli-esque fashion, which CDs drop next week and what band's headlining your favorite Kirkwood venue; ours will be the pages you thumb while suffering through Thursday lectures. Since a redesign a few years back, led by a truly dynamic and visionary staff, Weekend has truly found it's niche among local publications. And we're damn proud of that. \nIt's my plan to keep it that way. But I can't do it alone, which is why I hired a fantastic staff to assist in making your Weekend the best it can possibly be (without securing a name in the daily blotter -- we'll leave you to your own devices on that one). Meghan Dwyer, fresh from a stint at CNN Inside Politics this summer, will take over the features department, while graduate student Val Tsoutsoris will man the busily-diversifying reviews desk. Photo editor Adam Yale and design chief Jeremy Cook will team up to provide the visuals that are distinctly Weekend, creating a package that's at once eye-pleasing and informative. It's our aim to make the magazine fresh, appealing, and decidedly more editorially diverse without losing the entertainment news and events listings so vital to all segments of the IU student population. \nThat's why we're distributing student interest surveys in residence halls, Greek houses, apartment complexes and some academic buildings. Weekend shouldn't be about the esoteric interests of some left-wing editor-in-chief (hey, I won't get political yet), so we're not going to subject you to (much of) my rambling ruminations. We want to get to the heart of issues that matter to you, and that requires a bit of effort on both ends. (For the chronically lazy, fret not -- we'll offer an online poll as well.)\nSo let us know what matters to you. We want to hear your gripes and groans (and hey, a few accolades never hurt anyone). Email me personally at hljohnso@indiana.edu, or send a mass mailing to the Weekend team at weekend@indiana.edu. Stop by Ernie Pyle Hall and get a glimpse of what goes into making your Weekend fabulous. Apply to write a column, review or feature on subjects that may have flown over our radar. \nIt's your magazine. Make it.
(08/28/03 4:00am)
This week, I packed up my shoebox others deem a car and made the meandering trip back to Bloomington from my hometown of (prepare yourselves) Evansville, Ind., after more than a year away. \nI spent my junior year -- yes, the entire year -- abroad in Canterbury, England, followed by internships in Evansville and New York. Into those 365-plus days I crammed enough travel (and racked up enough credit card debt) to satisfy my wayward yearnings for at least a few decades. By the time I touched down in Indianapolis in May, I'd grown accustomed to living off the grossly-inflated British pound and wondering why Kylie Minogue's ass was so damn popular among Anglophiles. And during the course of my whirlwind summer, I prepared myself to take the helm of inarguably the best college magazine in the country. \nYes, that's right -- for those of you making your first-year foray into life as a Bloomingtonian (which, trust me, you'll become after inhabiting those dreadful dorms for a few weeks), you'll soon realize we are the premier source for entertainment in Bloomington and beyond. We'll be where you turn to find out what movies bombed in true Gigli-esque fashion, which CDs drop next week and what band's headlining your favorite Kirkwood venue; ours will be the pages you thumb while suffering through Thursday lectures. Since a redesign a few years back, led by a truly dynamic and visionary staff, Weekend has truly found it's niche among local publications. And we're damn proud of that. \nIt's my plan to keep it that way. But I can't do it alone, which is why I hired a fantastic staff to assist in making your Weekend the best it can possibly be (without securing a name in the daily blotter -- we'll leave you to your own devices on that one). Meghan Dwyer, fresh from a stint at CNN Inside Politics this summer, will take over the features department, while graduate student Val Tsoutsoris will man the busily-diversifying reviews desk. Photo editor Adam Yale and design chief Jeremy Cook will team up to provide the visuals that are distinctly Weekend, creating a package that's at once eye-pleasing and informative. It's our aim to make the magazine fresh, appealing, and decidedly more editorially diverse without losing the entertainment news and events listings so vital to all segments of the IU student population. \nThat's why we're distributing student interest surveys in residence halls, Greek houses, apartment complexes and some academic buildings. Weekend shouldn't be about the esoteric interests of some left-wing editor-in-chief (hey, I won't get political yet), so we're not going to subject you to (much of) my rambling ruminations. We want to get to the heart of issues that matter to you, and that requires a bit of effort on both ends. (For the chronically lazy, fret not -- we'll offer an online poll as well.)\nSo let us know what matters to you. We want to hear your gripes and groans (and hey, a few accolades never hurt anyone). Email me personally at hljohnso@indiana.edu, or send a mass mailing to the Weekend team at weekend@indiana.edu. Stop by Ernie Pyle Hall and get a glimpse of what goes into making your Weekend fabulous. Apply to write a column, review or feature on subjects that may have flown over our radar. \nIt's your magazine. Make it.
(06/06/03 5:01am)
When the 17 members of the IU presidential search committee embarked on what seemed in November to be a daunting task, they turned to the words of a former IU president for guidance. \nIn "Being Lucky," the oft-quoted memoir of former IU Chancellor and President Herman B Wells, the Indiana native and visionary of higher education wrote that administrators should step down from the reaches of academia, cultivating rather the ability to lead --not command.\nWells' definition of effective leadership became watchwords of the search process, steering the committee through the exhaustive eight-month process. Scores of candidates were gradually whittled down to a select, closely-examined few. But Thursday, that examination came to an end as the IU board of trustees unanimously approved Adam W. Herbert as IU's 17th president.\nMeeting in special session at 10 a.m. in the Musical Arts Center, the board officially announced Herbert's selection, exhorting the University of Southern California alumnus as "the right person for IU at this time" and lauding his achievements, both personal and public.\nTrustee Sue Talbot, a member of the search committee, said she knew Herbert would prevail as the leading candidate from the point of his first interview.\n"We were told we'd just know (the right candidate)," Talbot said. "When Herbert came, we just looked at each other ... We knew right away. He focuses on what IU is all about, and he doesn't divert. He will deliver."\nAnd now he's hitting the ground running, dedicating his initial weeks in Indiana to visiting each of the regional campuses in the IU system. His years at Florida proved Herbert a stalwart in maintaining strong intercampus relationships, a cause he said he'll champion when he steps into the presidency Aug. 1. \nHerbert gained notoriety among Florida administrators in 1998 for proposing a plan to tailor the budgets of each of Florida's 10 public universities to specific goals, grouped into three categories. \n• Focus on improving national reputations and graduate programs\n• Concentrate on improving doctoral study and raising undergraduate standards\n• Specifically target undergraduate educational objectives \nDeemed "tiered" and "a kind of branding" by its critics -- improperly, Herbert suggests -- the long-term strategic plan was based on Herbert's philosophy that different campuses within a statewide system offer different objectives to the communities they serve, and should be fiscally managed accordingly.\nHerbert calls it "mission differentiation" -- establishing unique missions for each satellite or regional campus that are specific to the needs of individual communities while aptly recognizing budget constraints imposed by the state. \n"Basically the concept is that every university in Florida was not the same, and in my view we did not need nor could we afford to establish 10 major research universities," Herbert said. "The challenge was to recognize that the needs of each state university were different, and what we had to do was to assure each individual institution had a mission that was specifically evaluated."\nHe'll find an extension of that challenge here at Indiana, where tightening state budget constraints calls for a new kind of fiscal conservatism at a time when improvement and development of existing programs is necessary to maintain IU's competitiveness -- and that's on the Bloomington campus alone. Herbert will manage Indiana's eight satellite campuses, each with its own unique set of priorities and constraints. \nThe medical school on the IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis campus, for example, provides its own set of financial challenges as the nation's second-largest medical teaching facility. Herbert specifically identified the School of Medicine as crucial to improving existing life sciences and biomedical programs on all IU campuses, but he said this can't be done without appropriate funding. \nSimilarities nonetheless emerge linking his Florida experience to current Indiana budget woes, as the former suffered a similarly crippling budget deficit under Herbert's watch as chancellor of the state system. Herbert partially overcame those losses by petitioning to state and federal legislators for an increase in government support and saw a $1 billion increase in new capital construction funds. \nHerbert plans on implementing an accountability plan to measure the success of such initiatives, but he also stresses the significance of helping policymakers understand financial realities for large-scale institutions such as Florida and Indiana. \nIt's essential, he said, to impart the long-term consequences of a reduction in state educational funds. \n"What complicates all of this is the very difficult fiscal period through which we're going at the national level," Herbert said. "Critical services are being devolved down to the states, so the challenge to state governments are very clear ... Public education is among those categories competing for state funds."\nHe also said he recognizes the importance of maintaining a diverse faculty and student body -- though despite the fact that he is IU's first black president, he notably shies away from questions concerning his own racial background -- and said that because "the world is shrinking," institutions of higher learning cannot afford to rest on their laurels -- they must recruit the finest and brightest, regardless of racial or economic background.\nNotably, Herbert, who turned down the historically all-black Morehouse College in favor of a University of Southern California degree, speaks in terms of economics, not color. \nIn 1999, when the Florida Board of Regents agreed to move ahead with Gov. Jeb Bush's plan to end affirmative action at the state's 10 public universities, Herbert proposed a controversial "20 percent plan" in which the upper 20 percent of high school students, regardless of ethnicity, would be accepted and granted aid to Florida schools. \nSpearheading aggressive recruitment initiatives in Florida inner-city schools led Herbert to conclude that committing funds to underprivileged youth is indeed "infectious" -- a theory visibly confirmed by countless colleagues, he claims. His Pathways to Success program, which garnered $10 million in donations for low-income students, directly engaged Herbert in inner-city communities; he visited each school and interacted directly with students and teachers to assure them that "income was not a factor" concerning university study. In one school in particular, UNF recruited the valedictorian, salutatorian, president of the honor society and the student body president -- all lured by the promise of educational grants. \nPersonal relationships are equally important to the Oklahoma native, who said students at UNF deemed him "Uncle Adam" or "Uncle Herbert." Students at his alma mater certainly haven't forgotten him either -- he was recognized in the USC 2000 yearbook, El Rodeo, as one of the university's most memorable graduates. His wife, whom Herbert deems the "foundation of his essential support system," said students can count on seeing the pair around frequently. \nStatewide focus groups, coupled with open forums on all IU campuses and town meetings in Indiana locales, allowed the committee to begin narrowing the initial pool of candidates submitted by Baker, Parker and Associates, an Atlanta-based firm in the position of lead consultant in the nationwide search, before Herbert was finally selected. \nThe results overwhelmingly demanded a candidate steeped in an understanding of higher education and of the vicissitudes of a statewide, public university system, said Stephen Ferguson, vice president of the board of trustees and chairman of the search committee. Herbert, he said, typified that sort of "navigant champion" of higher education, responsible for maintaining Indiana's dominance as a major research university.\n"The people of Indiana wanted someone with unquestionable integrity and exemplary leadership," Ferguson said. "They wanted a person who is a good communicator, a good listener and who had good people skills. They wanted a president who was a demonstrated leader in the educational field ... We have found such a person in Adam Herbert."\nHerbert comes to Indiana armed with more than 35 years of university experience, most significantly with the University of North Florida, where he served as president for nearly 10 years from 1989 to 1998, when he was named chancellor of the State University System of Florida, the second-largest system of its kind in the United States. That system, dismantled by Gov. Jeb Bush in 2001, enrolls more than 250,000 students, with budgetary allocations exceeding $5 billion. \nHerbert currently serves as Regents professor and the executive director of the Florida Center for Public Policy and Leadership at UNF. His extensive policy background has led him to stints with the Joint Center for Political Studies in Washington, as well as the urban affairs and public administration programs at Virginia Tech.\nThis isn't Herbert's first Indiana encounter, however. He was asked in the mid-1970s to join the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs faculty on the Bloomington campus -- an opportunity he declined in favor of a White House fellowship. There he served as assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and later worked under the U.S. Undersecretary of Housing and Urban Development. \nThirty years later, he said he's "able to correct that mistake."\nInterim President Gerald Bepko said Herbert's ability to clearly state and implement purposes and policies is going to be a step in the right direction for IU. \n"He's a natural communicator, and he's good at stating his vision," Bepko said. "He'll teach us a thing or two"
(06/05/03 1:31am)
Adam W. Herbert, chancellor of the State University System of Florida, will be named IU's first black president, culminating an extensive eight-month search, according to an IU source.\nThe IU board of trustees will announce Herbert's appointment at 10 a.m. today in the Musical Arts Center. Herbert visited the campus May 22, said Will Thompson, a desk clerk at the Grant Street Inn, where Herbert stayed while in Bloomington.\nThe search committee was formed in November after former President Myles Brand left IU to head the NCAA. Gerald Bepko has served as interim president since Nov. 1. \nThe Atlanta-based firm of Baker, Parker and Associates served as lead consultant in the nationwide search. \nCurrently executive director of the Florida Center for Public Policy and Leadership, Herbert comes to Indiana well-versed in the socio-economic construction of public institutions, after spending over two decades with the State University System of Florida and acting as its sixth chancellor from Jan. 20, 1998 to March 2, 2001, when Florida Gov. Jeb Bush dismantled it. Prior to that appointment, he served as president of the University of North Florida for 10 years and was a member of the NCAA Executive Board. \nHis indoctrination into state systems, however, far precluded his experience in Florida. A graduate of the University of Southern California -- part of the California statewide public university system and indeed a model for subsequent state and regional campuses -- Herbert holds an undergraduate degree in political science and a Master of Public Administration from USC. He went on to earn his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh in 1971. \nHerbert also served as chairman of the urban affairs program and associate professor of urban affairs at Virginia Tech in 1972. Two years later, he accepted a White House fellowship to act as special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, and served thereafter under the U.S. Undersecretary of Housing and Urban Development. \nOthers whose names were rumored as possible candidates throughout the search process included James Morris, executive director of the United Nations World Food Program and former president of the board; Rod Paige, U.S. Secretary of Education; and Nancy Zimpher, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.\nDan Langan, press secretary in Paige's Washington, D.C. offices, deflected initial inquiries concerning Paige's possible appointment to the IU position.\n"Secretary Paige plans to continue serving as Secretary of Education as long as the president wants him to serve," Langan said. \nTom Luljak, vice chancellor for university relations and communications at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, said Zimpher has no intentions of leaving Wisconsin and will be speaking all week on the Milwaukee campus at Board of Regents meetings. \n"She has said previously that indeed she learned she had been nominated for this position, and while she was flattered by the nomination, she is very much committed to UW-Milwaukee," Luljak said. \nRina Manzo, Morris' secretary at the U.N. World Food Program, said Morris asked her to convey that there was "absolutely no truth to the rumor" that he could be named president in today's meeting. \nCampus editor Doug Auer contributed to this story.
(06/05/03 1:27am)
Baxter Pharmaceutical Solutions, a driving economic force in the Bloomington community since its 2001 acquisition of Cook Group, announced plans Wednesday to enlarge its local facility through investments exceeding $100 million. The 120,000-sq. ft. expansion will foster the growth of more than 700 new jobs at the biomedical manufacturing plant. \nThe project's first phase entails a $25 million investment in new construction, equipment upgrades and improvement of existing facilities. The second expansion installment involves an additional $64.5 million investment in the company's Curry Pike facilities in Bloomington. \nJeff Harris, spokesman for the Indiana Department of Commerce, said that state, city and county donations will total $20.7 million in tax incentives and abatements for the Fortune 500 company. \n"Those include grants as well as tax credits," Harris said. "They will serve to support the creation of 700 new jobs and the retention of 560 existing positions at Baxter."\nHarris said the expansion will occur between now and 2010. The first 300 jobs are guaranteed by 2005, with 400 more being added in the following five years. \nThe expansion was lauded by both Indiana Gov. Frank O'Bannon and IU administrators exhorting the advantages of Baxter's expansion to life science researchers. \nIU Interim President Gerald Bepko welcomed the expansion, noting it will be particularly lucrative for researchers in the life sciences community in central Indiana.\n"Baxter's expansion of its Bloomington manufacturing facility holds great promise for the collaborations among business, government and higher education that are so essential in our efforts to build a 21st-century Hoosier economy," Bepko said in a statement Wednesday. "The services that Baxter Pharmaceutical Solutions provides for the biotech and drug industries will be important to the new companies emerging from the discoveries of Indiana University researchers working in the life sciences."\nBaxter Pharmaceutical Solutions, a subsidiary of Deerfield, Ill.-based Baxter International, maintains its status as one of the world's leading drug companies by manufacturing ready-to-use vials, syringes, cartridges and packages for myriad vaccinations. The corporation manages over 30 facilities on five continents and employs more than 55,000 people worldwide. \nIt came to Bloomington in 2001, when the privately-owned Cook Group turned assets over to the Baxter Healthcare Corporation. The merger allowed the expansion of the range of services Cook was able to offer, as well as inclusion in the pharmaceutical giant's global drug delivery program, according to a Baxter spokesman. \nThe acquisition worked in the community's favor, Bloomington mayor John Fernandez noted Wednesday. \n"Baxter, named by Fortune magazine this year as a 'best place to work,' is truly an ultimate match for our community," Fernandez said. "This is a perfect illustration of how a high quality of life can attract high-quality employers"
(05/22/03 1:53am)
A recent investigation by an Indianapolis television news station concerning a suspected al Qaeda operative with Bloomington ties has sparked local concern, leading area Islamic leaders to call for a "more informed analysis" of terrorist threats.\nThe series, "Under Surveillance," concluded Wednesday night on NBC affiliate WTHR and has been deemed "sensational" by the Islamic Center of Bloomington, which issued a formal statement earlier this week. The report, led by WTHR reporter Angie Moreschi, focused on the FBI's probe into Juma al-Dosari, a prayer leader who worked for the Islamic Center of Bloomington in the summer of 2001. \nAl-Dosari has been confirmed by Indianapolis FBI special-agent-in-charge Tom Fuentes as part of an investigation into the "Lackawanna" terrorist sleeper cell outside Buffalo, NY. The cell was exposed shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, and al-Dosari is believed to have been captured in Afghanistan and sent to Guantanamo Bay. \nThe WTHR report credits the Bahrain-born al-Dosari with helping recruit the "Lackawanna Six," six American citizens of Yemeni descent who trained at terrorist camps in Afghanistan. Al-Dosari allegedly encouraged young Muslims in Lackawanna to attend al Qaeda training camps; the Lackawanna Six emerged as a result of those exhortations. The last of the six pled guilty May 19 to supporting al Qaeda, the day the story ran on WTHR.\nMoreschi spoke with Amr Sabry, former president of the center and an IU professor of computer science, about al-Dosari's tenure there and revealed al-Dosari worked as a prayer and spiritual leader with possible Taliban sympathies. \nSabry claims the report fails to depict accurately what was said in the interview, which lasted over two hours, and the Islamic Center expressed similar sentiments.\n"The Bloomington Islamic Center is alarmed by the recent sensationalist story created for sweeps week by WTHR Channel 13 news," the center said in a statement. "We are hurt that images of our mosque are being juxtaposed with pictures of al Qaeda training camps to form a highly sensational segment."\nThis is not just a local issue. Laila al-Uatami, spokeswoman for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said the amount of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment dramatically increased after the Sept. 11 attacks, though "hate incident" cases have subsided somewhat in the past year. While the ADC continues to battle employment discrimination cases in particular -- typically between 25 to 30 cases per week -- she noted the media's role in perpetuating Islamic and Arab stereotypes. \nAl-Uatami said public perceptions of Arab Americans and Muslims typically intertwine, as many Americans fail to draw accurate distinctions between the groups. Local and national media and contemporary pop culture often tend to exacerbate and reinforce these negative connotations.\n"We do see a certain level of bias in TV, particularly when reporting on events concerning the Arab world or the Israeli conflict in particular," al-Uatami said.\nAl-Uatami also said she was familiar with the case and that the ADC legal department was likely following it. \nMoreschi maintained the integrity of her story, and said she felt it was too important to be left untold. \n"We made a point in stating in our story that the majority of the six to eight million Muslims in America do not promote violence or practice extremism," she said. "In many ways, we believe it helps to answer questions for Muslims and all others in the community as to why the FBI was so focused on Bloomington."\nShe said she's answered a few e-mails from people within local Muslim communities, responding to their concern that the report perpetuated negative Islamic stereotypes. \n"There was and is a great deal of fear among Muslims I've spoken to that they will be targeted randomly," Moreschi said. "This gives some perspective that ongoing investigations did have a credible reason and people were not being arbitrarily put under surveillance." \nJeremy Burcham, executive committee president and spokesman for the Islamic Center, has contacted Moreschi and claims the station and the center maintain an "open line of communication."\nHe said his main focus at this point is assuaging concern within the Bloomington community in general -- not just among area Muslims.
(05/20/03 9:43pm)
Rob Kling, IU professor of Information Systems and Information Science at the School of Library and Information Science, passed away unexpectedly in the early morning hours Thursday, according to a SLIS Web site created in his honor. He was 58. \nKling is survived by his wife, Mitzi Lewison, an IU education professor, and his sister, Ellasara Kling, of New York City. Lewison said the couple's home has been inundated with calls and visits from former students and colleagues in the days following his death.\n"He was the most fabulous person on the planet as far as I'm concerned," Lewison said. "What struck me, though, are his grad students. They've just been in tears, as bad as I am; they view him as a mentor."\nShe also noted Kling's aptitude in reaching international students, adding that former students from the University of California at Irvine also have called to pay their respects.\n"He seemed to really work with them in a way that was really important to them," she said. "There was something about his work with students that was really special. I always knew he was good working with students as a Ph.D. adviser, but I guess this really brought it home."\nThomas Duffy, Bruce Jacobs chair of education and technology in Instructional Systems Technology and a colleague of Kling's at the Center for Social Informatics, said the professor's death will leave a void similarly sensed at CSI, SLIS and the University as a whole. \nDuffy said he will remember his colleague as "incredibly willing to be helpful and to be a team player."\n"He just had a great intellect," Duffy said, adding that Kling persistently exhorted coworkers and students to consider IT in terms of overarching social systems, rather than centering upon the technology itself. \n"He looked at communities of teachers and how we should support them," Duffy said. "His passion was very much the kind of social issues surrounding the use of technology."\nDuffy had collaborated with Kling on a variety of issues within the institute, most recently working on a graduate proposal. He has known Kling since 1996, when Kling began his tenure at IU. He learned of Kling's death Friday morning while sitting in a meeting. \nOn his Web site, Kling categorized his research as primarily focusing upon the "social consequences of computerization and the social choices that are available to people." He said he believed that contextualizing information technologies in terms of their adjacent social structures and political environment precipitated a greater comprehension of such systems as digital libraries, instructional computing and desktop computing. He remained committed to viewing the role of information systems as that of organizational tools -- as "technology in use" rather than simple data collections.\nPreeminent among his research interests at the end of his life were the role of digital libraries and electronic publishing. One such current project, funded by the National Science Foundation, examined the effective maintenance of new communications technologies by diverse scholarly communities, as well as the costs and complexities involved in developing forums for scientific communication. He said he was particularly intrigued by the methods by which new technologies initiated social and organizational change. \nDr. Blaise Cronin, dean of SLIS, commented upon Kling's intense work ethic and morals, likening his recruitment to "reeling in a prize marlin."\n"Rob cared about the academy and was passionately committed to maintaining scholastic standards and collegiality," Cronin said on the SLIS Web site. "He juggled a workload that made the rest of us blanch. Yet as soon as a new problem, challenge or opportunity presented itself, he was off. Another ball was tossed up into the already seriously congested air. I'd routinely tease him that he had more bees in his bonnet than an apiarist, but the man was not for turning. Such was Rob, and we would not have had it otherwise."\nWhile at IU, Kling taught such courses as Computerization in Society, Information Technologies and Social Change, and Digital Libraries and Electronic Publishing in Social-Technological Perspective. He came to IU in August 1996, following stints at the Stanford Research Institute's Artificial Intelligence Center, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of California at Irvine.\nLewison emphasized Kling's "real zest for life" and noted his love for travel and unusual cuisine. She said after the couple moved to Bloomington from California, a shift she deemed "pretty much of a shock," she and Kling would drive every few months to tiny towns in southern Indiana -- a practice she claims typified the late professor's spark. \n"Every couple of months, Rob and I would try to find the most obscure place in southern Indiana," she said. "We'd take the road map and go to a little town with a population of 50 people and check it out and take photos. We'd do that six to eight times a year, just to try and see what was there."\nThe response to Kling's death among colleagues and students in the School of Library Science and throughout the University as a whole has flooded the Web site SLIS created in his honor. Friends and colleagues may visit the site and contribute comments at http://www.slis.indiana.edu/klingremembered. A celebration of Kling's life has been planned by his family, and a similar gathering will be planned by his colleagues in SLIS. Dates have not been determined yet.\nKling's family has created the Rob Kling Social Informatics Scholarship Fund in his memory, with SLIS providing matching funds. Checks should be payable to the IU Foundation and the name of the fund should be included on the memo line. They should be sent to: IU Foundation, P.O. Box 500, Bloomington, IN 47402.
(09/11/02 6:13am)
The flags fluttering at half staff today will be the first indication that something has changed, followed by the four peals of bells at midmorning: 8:45 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 9:40 a.m. And finally, nearly one year and two hours after network newsreels showed a disbelieving public the sort of nightmarish destruction extremist terrorist networks are capable of, the Metz carillon will send out one last lonely call at 10:37 a.m. With each tone, the campus community will be reminded of that which it can never forget -- the four attacks on American soil composing the events of Sept. 11.\nTo commemorate the attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, IU will host a myriad of campuswide events -- the capstone of which is a remembrance ceremony at 4 p.m. at Showalter Fountain. Three students will be awarded Sept. 11 memorial scholarships made possible by the IU Student Foundation. \nFaculty and student representatives will provide readings and reflections to the tune of musical offerings from the School of Music and the African American Arts Institute. President Myles Brand and Chancellor Sharon Brehm will provide remarks as well.\n"It is important for us to come together as a campus and a community to share our thoughts about these tragic, life-changing events," Brand said in a statement. "Our students, faculty and staff joined in a shared sense of humanity and purpose in the days and weeks following Sept. 11. We intend to renew that spirit on this anniversary."\nThe IU Art Museum will open a special public tour at 5:30 p.m. entitled "One World Many Views," in which objects from various religious faiths will be on display. Dr. Guy Edward Maxedon, Art Museum Lucienne M. Glaubinger curator for education, said the museum wanted to plan a program appropriate to Sept. 11 that would showcase what the art museum does best -- "to look at examples of art in the original from the museum's collection, in this case which reflects the various religious ideals that comprise American society."\nObjects in the exhibit range from Renaissance panel paintings to Islamic plates to Buddhist statues.\n"This artwork, (which) one might first identify as religious in nature, reflects the ideas and ideals that have built and sustained civilizations over the millennia and are found in the fabric of American society today," Maxedon said. "We are, indeed, one nation with many views."\nThe School of Education will sponsor a Web broadcast of a previously recorded panel discussion entitled "Implications of Sept. 11 for Education." Described by School of Education Dean and panel moderator Gerardo Gonzalez as a "free flowing conversation on personal perspectives dealing with the effects of Sept. 11 on education," the panel will consist of professors, teachers and graduate students with personal and professional stakes in the events of Sept. 11.\nProfessor of Counseling and Educational Psychology Tom Sexton will discuss the psychological ramifications of Sept. 11 during the discussion. Sexton, a licensed psychologist specializing in families and at-risk adolescents, also served as director of the Center for Human Growth in the School of Education.\nAmy Seely Flint, assistant professor of Language Education, will talk about the role of writing plays in curriculum. Her research focuses upon the role of teachers in inviting students to "inquire, examine, interrogate and reflect upon the commonplace text and experience," Gonzalez said.\nPanelist Margaret Sutton, an assistant professor in educational leadership and policy studies, has worked extensively with educational systems in Asia and Africa and will discuss her research and findings gleaned from her international experience. Bloomington South High School social studies teacher Matt Hoagland rounds out the panel. Hoagland teaches world history with a unit on Islam at South; prior to his teaching career, he served as a platoon lieutenant in the Desert Storm deployment.\nAs racial profiling becomes more prevalent in U.S. society, Gonzalez said the "danger that bias and prejudice will raise their ugly heads in the current climate." A Cuban immigrant strapped with educational roadblocks from an early age, he once told IU Home Pages interviewers he "learned to keep his mouth shut" when faced with prejudice at school. Yet since Sept. 11, he said he's seen an outpouring of support -- not the hate he encountered as a child.\n"I saw a lot more expressions of concern and offers of assistance immediately following the events of Sept. 11 than expressions of hate," Gonzalez said. "Of course, the post-Sept. 11 policy changes and security processes being implemented may restrict educational access for some students, particularly international students."\nHe said he remains hopeful that no eligible student will be denied educational access based on demographic characteristics.\n"America offers the best system of higher education anywhere in the world, and our freedom, peace and democracy in a global community depends on having educated citizens," he said. \nGonzalez fingered college students in particular as among those with a particular duty to remember the events of Sept. 11.\n"The events of Sept. 11 have transformed our world. The way we in America think about politics, religion, international affairs and life itself, among others, have changed," Gonzalez said. "Education is a process by which not only subject area knowledge but also culture is transmitted … college students today are the leaders of tomorrow. They have a special responsibility to remember, reflect, and to the extent possible help create a world that will not repeat the horrific events of Sept. 11."\nEvening events include an interfaith service of remembrance at 8 p.m. in Dunn Meadow as well as a candlelight vigil at 7:30 p.m. on the front lawn of the Delta Delta Delta sorority house, 818 E. Third Street. \nSenior Julie Doi, vice president of public relations at Tri-Delt, said both a capella groups Ladies First and Straight No Chaser will be performing. The event is open to the entire campus.\nThe IU Student Association, the largest student organization on campus, also has a commemoration event planned for tonight.\nAt 7:30 p.m., there will be an open discussion held at the Neal-Marshall Black Cultural Center featuring student leaders from various cultural groups, including the Black Student Union and the Asian American Association, on campus focusing on the concept of being an American after Sept. 11.\nFollowing the discussion, a debate between the College Democrats and Republicans will cover topics such as homeland security and the war on terrorism.\nFollowing those events, a vigil will be held at Showalter Fountain, where a unity statement will be made.\n"The discussion and debate will be pretty emotionally charged," said Marshawn Wolley, a senior and chief of staff at IUSA. "For our generation, this is probably one of the most impacting events of our lives, and it's important for all students to attend these events together."\nIDS Reporter Maura Halpern contributed to this report.
(09/10/02 10:30pm)
Three days ago, as the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks loomed before a jaded nation, the men and women of the Bloomington Township Fire Department took a moment of silence to honor two of their own. They assembled quietly, standing around a limestone marker flanked by an undulating American flag, lost in their own thoughts and memories.\nIn an era of innocence lost, as a country turns its attention to the machines and mechanisms of a war against terror, these quiet heroes took a moment to remember their fallen brothers -- and reflect upon the level of courage their service commands.\n"People ask me all the time, 'Faron, with your years of experience, would you have gone inside that tower?'" Chief Faron Livingston said. "And I say yes -- of course -- absolutely. When you make a commitment to this life, you have to know you're going to see death and destruction. You just have to go in and do it."\nLivingston removes his hat as he approaches the site where the memorial, crafted of Indiana limestone and towering at six-foot-one, will stand. It's not yet been completed; the designer, himself a former BTFD fireman and IU graduate, isn't done yet. But small commemorative stones rise from the carefully manicured lawn.\nLivingston is a friendly man whose easygoing demeanor belies the disposition required of a firefighter in charge of nearly 50 volunteers and six full-time employees. His office is adorned with certificates proclaiming completion of well control training, participation in national fire training academies and bombs and explosive devices expertise. Yet he becomes soft-spoken, matter-of-fact, when talking about the soul of his force -- those men and women who've stuck with the job despite the emotional toll the work often demands.\n"You know, you either joke about it (firefighting), or you go nuts," Livingston said. "Sometimes you've got to cry, to get it off your chest. It's a natural reaction. It's okay."\n"Look at all that crazy sky"\nThe morning of Sept. 11, Livingston got to work a little late, so he took the back door. He entered the recreation room adjacent to the kitchen and came upon his men huddled around a television set.\nFirefighter and IU student Matt Baranko tore his eyes from the screen and looked up at his boss.\n"Holy shit," he said. "A plane's hit the World Trade Center."\nThat's when the adrenaline started pumping. E-mails began pouring in from all over the city and county from concerned residents asking for confirmation, pleading that this could not, should not, be true. A discord of screeching tones danced across the central dispatch system frequencies. Orders came in requesting fire chiefs to close and lock all station doors. Disbelievingly, the men and women of BTFD listened to live accounts of reporters and onlookers impersonating New York City fire personnel in attempts to get closer to Ground Zero. \n"How could you hit that?" assistant chief Joel Bomgardner recalls saying. "Look at all that crazy sky."\nThe firefighters remained together for about half an hour longer, some still glued to CNN reports, others offering somber exchanges. Then, in a near mass exodus from the Old State Road 37 station, they went home to their families. Three days later, they were watching M-16 fighter planes escort a small passenger plane from the skies over Monroe County Airport. \n"It bothered the hell out of me," Livingston said, recalling five of his own brethren from his days at the National Fire Academy who lost their lives racing into the blazing towers. "But it's funny how it affected people -- they just started telling us out loud that they appreciated what we do."\nTwo weeks after the attacks, Bomgardner walked by the station pool table, bathed in light by two floor-to-ceiling windows. Atop it sat a basket with an unsigned card:\n"Thank you for everything you do. We have always appreciated it."\nWrapped around the basket was a knit American flag afghan. Exactly one year later, it's still there, a persistent symbol of community spirit, a glimmer of hope in a time of mourning.\nThe first to respond\nAs anthrax scares fueled near-hysteria nationwide, the department's Hazmat -- short for hazardous materials -- team was placed on standby status. If the deadly spores were detected in Monroe or surrounding counties, they'd be the first in, reporting to the epicenter of the hot zone. Livingston recalls 42 such responses this year, with approximately six termed "credible threats" -- situations where "interest is perked."\nAn example of such an incident occurred in mid-October, when the Bloomington chapter of Planned Parenthood received one of 82 allegedly anthrax-laden letters from an unknown location in Ohio. Though Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez warned city officials not to "let fear and uncertainty turn into panic," reports of possible anthrax detection poured into city and township police and fire units. The BTFD was among the first to respond.\nThe department even graced the pages of Time last October as reports of anthrax in Forest Quad mobilized both full-time and volunteer members of the Hazmat team into action. \nLivingston's expertise in working with hazardous chemicals has earned him the moniker "Hazmat One" around the stationhouse. Each year at the National Firemen's Caucus in Washington, D.C., he makes the trek to Capitol Hill to visit Indiana Senator Richard Lugar in his Constitution Avenue offices.\nJust one of the guys\nBomgardner said the attacks prompted a spike in volunteer signups. Some recruits could take it; others dropped out of sight shortly after they appeared -- a testament to the "try it for a few days or make it your life" mentality pervading the fire service, he said.\nLivingston has a file cabinet full of turned-over personnel. But for every fireman lost, he said, he's got five of the "other breed" -- those dedicated to the task of saving lives.\nBomgardner estimates 75-to-80 percent of post-Sept. 11 volunteers have stuck with the job. Some are IU students, many of whom, like Baranko, plan to complete their academic pursuits but return to the service. Many of them are locals, longtime Bloomington residents who have grown to love the community that nurtured them from childhood.\nLivingston, a former truck driver, crisscrossed the country on nationwide hauls and said he's "been to town and seen the circus," and Bloomington's just where he wants to be.\nIU costume shop employee Eleanor Modin once considered herself just that -- a sort of silent supporter. But since Sept. 11 and at the prompting of friends involved in the fire service, she began considering ways she could contribute to the fight against terrorism. An avid philanthropist, she turned to the BTFD as an alternative way to give back to the immediate community.\nHailing from Switzerland, Modin came to the U.S. to study music at IU. On the morning of Sept. 11, she was at work in the Musical Arts Center -- without a TV. A friend called to inform the staff of the attacks, and they waited until National Public Radio picked up the reports. A television was later installed on the MAC's main stage to allow those working in the facility to follow developments. \nSomething stirred within Modin. She had done rescue work in the Swiss Alps and was no stranger to physical challenges. A friend, the chief of Indian Creek Township's department, encouraged her to talk to the BTFD. So she signed up, and three months later began work as a part-time volunteer. \n"I weighed it carefully," Modin said. "I wanted to make a solid commitment. Christmastime gave me some downtime" -- Modin had to complete 24 hours of mandatory training -- "so I chose December to do it."\nNine months later, she's still an active member and a trained Hazmat technician. Though she's a woman in a service once considered to be dominated by gruff, burly males, she said she never feels inferior.\n"I can't carry someone down the big ladder, obviously," she said. "But I feel comfortable. You get more detached to things like that, and you just go in and do your job."\nLivingston agreed.\n"She's one of the guys," he said. "When women come in, they're accepted immediately into the brotherhood of the department. We've got guys from Greece, women from Switzerland, IU students. They're all part of the department, and they're all equals. We get the other, special breeds, and we like it that way"
(09/10/02 10:26pm)
WASHINGTON -- Three thousand victims -- and 3 million questions unanswered.\nSuch was the cry of the hundreds flooding the U.S. Capitol in June voicing support for an independent investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks.\nIt haunted me then, as I watched, a spectator and Senate intern, from the back of the crowd, feeling naked without my tape recorder or piece of media apparatus.\nAnd it haunts me yet.\nI scarcely paid attention to the countless demonstrations that lured hundreds to the grassy knolls stretched before the Capitol. They supported or rallied against myriad causes; each, it seemed, demanded the undivided consideration of every senator and representative who'd listen. \nIt wasn't that I couldn't relate to the plight -- I had simply become jaded, my eyes glossed over with the humdrum tasks required of the typical Senate intern. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, I went to committee hearings, opened mail and answered constituent letters. Those causes and rallies were fluff, they were simple, they didn't get things done. None piqued my interest -- that is, until those families and friends of Sept. 11 victims flocked to the Hill. \nIt was an otherwise quiet June morning in Washington, bright and humid without a cloud in the sky, so I ducked out of work early and trekked outside past Constitution Avenue. What I saw astounded me.\nThe lawn was filled with media and common folk alike. While children played absently under shaded trees, a crowd of more than 100 listened to senators, representatives and survivors pledge their support to the independent investigation.\nKatie Soulis lost Tim, her husband of 12 years, in the WTC attacks when she was three months pregnant. Shielding her newborn son's face from the blinding sun, she spoke to the crowd frankly, her rich contralto breaking ever so slightly as she recounted the night of Sept. 10. She and Tim had taken their four sons and daughter -- children the couple "shared and loved and cherished together" -- for a bike ride and to buy popcorn.\nThen there was David Ehnar's mother, who lost her only son on the 100th floor of the Trade Center. Dwarfed by the podium, she pleaded, raspy-voiced, for more questions, for more answers.\nToni Esposito, a mother of two from Princeton, NJ, lost her brother-in-law, an employee working on the 89th floor, in the attacks on New York. He was one of the unlucky, she said, who thought to get out, he must go up.\n"He climbed the stairs -- what was left of them -- because that's how they thought they'd get out," Esposito explained. "He called my sister to tell her…but he couldn't get out. The doors were locked."\nThe family grieved, Esposito said, and they grieve yet today. Her sister's family's main source of income stopped, and her sister, Pat Ryan, began looking for other widows and widowers with whom she could sort out her pain, her anger, her agony.\nThus Pat, with the aid of son Colin, 15, formed a New Jersey area Web-based support network. \nFor her part, Ryan was "astounded" that more Americans wouldn't rise in support of independent investigations into the events surrounding and leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks. Hers are all valid questions -- What of the media and their role in expounding upon (or exploiting) the attacks? What don't we know? How can we find out more? \nI've never felt so out of place and yet uniquely part of a common mass. I could watch replay upon replay of the horrible crashes, of the unearthly aftermath, of the dusty fallout, for hours, days, months. Yet I still didn't completely understand. \nAnd I still don't purport to. But the aura pervading Capitol Hill -- and indeed, all of Washington -- that June morning won't likely leave me for a good while. It was a feeling of mutual support, of compassion. It was reality, spoken from the lips of children and grandmothers alike, all asking the same questions and demanding some sort of, any sort of, answer. These demonstrators weren't fluff. They weren't simple. And they were ready to get things done -- by whatever means possible.
(09/06/02 6:25am)
While its Purdue and Ball State University counterparts dozed in the sun or shook off hangovers Monday, over 30,000 IU students returned to classes, and they had the Bloomington Faculty Council to thank.\nWhen it came time at the council's final meeting last year to consider changing the official academic calendar, the nearly 50 members found themselves divided yet again on the age-old issue of whether to hold classes on Labor Day. \nDeliberations trickled on long into the meeting, with valuable points offered by both sides of the issue. But in the end, the motion to give students Labor Day off and extend Thanksgiving break by one week was tabled, postponed for additional consideration this year.\nBut, BFC President and Agenda Committee Chair Robert Eno is quick to point out, the current calendar has been in place for decades.\n"This faculty didn't set this calendar," Eno said. "But it's an example of an issue where you encounter a lot of concern both by faculty and students for varieties of reasons. Any solution is going to be opposed by some and supported by others -- you're not going to find a calendar to suit everyone."\nNor is setting the academic calendar the only concern of the BFC; an elected body acting on behalf of the campus faculty. It sets all academic policies for the Bloomington campus and works in tandem with similar councils from IU's regional campuses. Its jurisdiction encompasses all personnel issues, such as tenure promotion, fringe benefits and long-range planning.\nThe council consists of faculty members from each specialized school, as well as some from subdisciplines within departments. Juniors Bill Gray and Judd Arnold, IU Student Association president and vice president, respectively, round out the council as the undergraduate members; similarly, graduate students and associate instructors are represented on the council as well. Chancellor Sharon Brehm has an administrative voice on the board, as do Dean of Faculties Moya Andrews, Dean of Budgetary Administration Neil Theobold and Graduate School Dean George Walker.\nWhile the council acts as a representative body for the entire campus, it may defer some decisions -- such as setting the calendar -- to the system council, which is composed of faculty and administrators from Bloomington, IU regional campuses and IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis. \nArnold said the IUSA executive board has not yet met with the entire BFC body, but Gray is slated to meet today with Eno to discuss student issues. \nEno said the council welcomes suggestions from student representatives.\n"We feel it's our obligation to make extra effort to hear students out if they're willing to offer a view from a different perspective," Eno said. "We're coming at this from the standpoint of faculty, and we like to explore what the other side looks like."\nHe raised last year's issue of imposing taxes on textbooks as one example -- an issue the council wouldn't have otherwise examined. \nAnother galvanizing issue among students arose last spring, when the BFC passed a resolution endorsing nationwide academic principles for intercollegiate athletics. IU students and Big Ten athletes alike attacked the proposal, voicing myriad complaints, yet then-IUSA president Jake Oakman and mens' basketball coach Mike Davis voiced their support for the measure. \nFearing immediate changes to athletic programs, the students reacted unfavorably to the council's efforts -- and justifiably so, Eno said.\n"We were in effect endorsing nationwide principles developed by the faculty senate leaders of all Big Ten institutions," Eno said. "The students, however, felt what we were doing was passing policy to affect the conduct of intercollegiate athletics instead of considering a resolution pushing for the direction of general reform."\nEno said that while the student voice did not prevail on that particular issue, the undergraduate presence did affect the voting outcome, including the his own vote.\nEno said true change is often initiated at the standing committee level. The council's 17 committees range in jurisdiction from student affairs to affirmative action and educational policies, according to the BFC Web site.\nThis year, the council plans to take up the issue of course transfers between the regional and Bloomington campuses. Currently, intercampus transfer students must petition the Course Transfer Appeal Board for approval of credit transfer, according to the IU Course Transfer and Appeals Policy.\nIn the past, Eno said, it's been "highly unpredictable" how those credits will transfer. The BFC will attempt to ease the transition for transfer students by ensuring similar courses carry over on the Bloomington campus.\nThe council in its entirety will conduct its first meeting of the year at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, in the State Room East of the Indiana Memorial Union.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
At the age of 7, Maya Angelou lost her voice.\nFour days after her disclosure that her mother's boyfriend had raped her, two policemen entered the parlor of her grandmother's house in St. Louis. Their very presence jarred her. But it was what they said that shocked her into mute silence -- the rapist, released after one night in prison, had been found dead, apparently kicked to death.\nAngelou, shaken, simply stopped speaking. Afraid that "the very opening of (my) mouth would issue death," she retreated from all personal contact, eventually finding herself shipped back to live with her maternal grandmother in tiny Stamps, Ark.\nFive and a half years later, she found that lost voice again, in "a rainbow in the clouds."\nStriding confidently onstage at the IU Auditorium Wednesday night, the award-winning essayist, poet, musician and playwright captivated the audience with that voice. In a rich contralto, she sang "When it looks like the sun/wasn't going to shine anymore/God put a rainbow/in the clouds."\nAngelou dedicated her speech to helping the crowd find their own "rainbows," beacons of light symbolizing hope even in one's darkest hours. She also urged them to look closer into the people and institutions surrounding them, citing IU as "rainbow" itself. \n"I think this University is a rainbow in the clouds," Angelou said. "People might not have a dream or hope of going to a university, but they found that possible path at this university. That tells me this place is a rainbow in the clouds."\nShe also deemed poetry, particularly that of the black tradition, a source of strength in personally ascertaining life's meaning. During her five-year silence, Angelou said she memorized poetry, so that even after she left the racially divided "condition of Stamps, Ark., I found myself pulling on what I'd read. I knew that those words were meant for me."\nThat lesson, Angelou said, surfaces as a universal truth for all people, regardless of color or socioeconomic background. \n"When you are able to pull words from your mind, it helps you think, 'I'm not the only one ignored, mistreated (or) lonely. People have been abused before me. Yet someone has survived -- has thrived -- with passion, compassion, humor and style," she said. "Whatever your race, you need something to say you are right for yourself."\nThat message spoke volumes to freshman Terrell Cooper. Citing Angelou as a "real inspiration," Cooper said, "so often, we take for granted what we can do and what we possess. It's up to us to do what's inside."\nIn addition to the internalization of poetry, Angelou lauded the role of personal relationships in shaping individuals. For Angelou, her grandmother, "Mama," personified that rainbow. In encouraging her granddaughter to cherish the works of such celebrated black poets as Langston Hughes and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, this noble matriarch inspired hope in the young Angelou. \n"The direct relationship to the heroes and she-roes, in accordance with institutions formed to challenge and provoke, become rainbows in the clouds," Angelou said. "When you learn, teach; when you get, give … and today I teach all over the world because someone didn't mind being that rainbow in the clouds."\nFor freshman Erica Petty, who attended the lecture, Angelou herself is that "she-roe," that rainbow offering hope in otherwise bleak times.\n"When she walked onstage, she took my breath away," Petty said. "Everything she said spoke to me. She is, to me, that 'rainbow in the clouds."
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Charges have not yet been filed in the death of Berkley Branson, a freshman killed a little more than a week ago. \nBranson, 19, died a few hours after she attempted to exit the 1995 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Matthew Willett of Evansville. The Vanderburgh County Coroner's report issued late last week attributed her death to a lacerated liver. Branson was in Evansville for the Easter holiday, her parents said.\nSheriff's reports say Branson might have attempted to exit the moving vehicle because of an argument with Willett. Branson's blood-alcohol content was 0.26, nearly three times the legal limit.\nThe sheriff's report cited Willett's blood-alcohol content as 0.08 percent, under the legal Indiana driving limit of 0.10. \nSheriff Brad Ellsworth said the department is "taking its time" to conclude the investigation, hoping to obtain a complete account of the night's events from Willett. \nLt. Stephen Bequette said the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Department is concluding its investigation. Once the sheriff's files have been completed, the case will be turned over to Prosecutor Stan Levco.\nWhile no allegations have been brought against Willett, Bequette said he believes Levco will file charges. But Levco said he doesn't intend to do so.\n"I'm not anticipating filing charges at this time," Levco said. "However, I do want to read the case file carefully before reaching a final decision"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
They'll walk through the Sample Gates and descend upon Kirkwood one last time.\nThey'll stroll into Nick's English Hut for a celebratory drink with their parents, embraced this time as alumni.\nThey'll take a final splash through Showalter Fountain, fleetingly remembering those fragile first nights in Bloomington, when four years seemed a lifetime away.\nBut tomorrow they'll realize that time is elusive. Those years passed more quickly than they could have imagined.\nOne by one, the 6,064 graduating IU seniors will file into Memorial Stadium to pay homage to IU and the small town which embraced them as its own for four years. One by one, they'll listen to Chancellor Kenneth Gros Louis's commencement address, ruminating memories past and those to come.\nRelief may wash over some. Others may be overcome with joy, with unrelenting emotion. Disbelief and fear for the future might occupy still others' thoughts. Yet the promise of these graduating seniors far overshadows the doubt lingering in their minds.\nMusical theatre major and senior Angel Cabral recognizes that potential and lauds IU for the breadth of experiences it harbors. Cabral, who will head to New York to pursue theatre after graduation, entered IU as a Wells Scholar four years ago.\nCabral's interests in both theater and French proved difficult in meeting degree requirements, but the Wells Program helped her to be "fully committed to both," she said.\nLifting her voice in the Singing Hoosiers and Broadway Cabaret proved good practice for Cabral, who went on to become one of the founding members of IU's women's a capella group Ladies First.\n"I absolutely love this group," Cabral said. "They are incredible girls, and to make music with just your voices is so liberating."\nThe friendships established there, she said, helped shape her years at IU. She'll miss those women, who blended their voices with hers to coup the first-place title at the national women's a cappella semifinals. They're the same girls with whom Cabral shared a cone at Jiffy Treet while strolling the streets of downtown Bloomington. They're the same women who cheered Cabral on in her original senior thesis production, "Moving On," a musical revue in which she starred.\nBut Cabral isn't the only one moving on. Chancellor Ken Gros Louis, slated for retirement upon completion of this academic year, joins this year's graduating class as he steps away from thirty eight years of advocacy and dedication to the Bloomington campus, twenty-two of those spent as chancellor. One last time, he will play to the emotions of a captivated audience at Memorial Stadium, bidding a personal farewell in what will be his final valedictory speech as chancellor.\nAfter 38 years of mentoring, appointing administrators, and championing public higher education, Gros Louis will step down, leaving behind him a legacy that has been compared with that of the late Herman B Wells.\nGros Louis' modestly acknowledges the comparison to Wells, claiming Wells was a far more "visionary person" than he.\n"What I think I learned from him that I have tried to continue is the importance of every person in a university community to its success, the need to try to make a large place such as Bloomington seem smaller, and a notion of what a public university really is," Gros Louis said. "That is, a university that is accessible, open, and that expands the horizons of all students who come here."\nGros Louis noted his most significant experiences on campus as those "one-on-one" encounters with students, faculty and administrators. He lauded the Wells Scholars Program, the creation of the Arboretum, and the expansion of programs for minority students as initiatives of which he was most proud.\nLeaving campus will certainly be a difficult task, he admits. He is, he said, "graduating" as well. Yet he maintains hope that his commencement address is "of interest and sharply focused enough to be remembered," a message that will doubtlessly resound in the ears of eager graduates, equipped with the support their families and friends and the promise of a successful future.