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(08/24/11 4:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>“Char, it’s Lauren.”These were the three simple words Robert Spierer said via telephone to his wife, just shy of three months ago. This reencounter, much more than any of the others, somehow drowned out the echoing of vending machines and boilers in the basement of the Indiana Memorial Union late in the afternoon of Aug. 16. Retelling this moment, Charlene Spierer stopped on the last word, laid her head into her palms and released silent tears and audible gasps. A stifled “I’m sorry” escaped shortly after. She did not continue.Her husband sat rigidly next to her, also acknowledging the moment when the world stopped turning for the two parents now supported by rickety chairs and a college town. Their frustrated sentences showed quick, split-second insights into an unfathomable pain.“It’s…a physical and emotional emptiness. It can’t be described. You feel like you should have protected your child. ‘What could we have done differently?’” he said.Lauren Spierer is now a household name for the IU community. As the student body returns to campus for the fall, the Spierers’ missing daughter is everywhere: on the glass windows of residence hall entrances, the chipped paint of the light posts and the worried minds of parents. But after one look at Charlene Spierer, a woman who has not left Bloomington since her daughter’s disappearance months ago, besides returning to New York for a few days to celebrate their other daughter’s birthday, it is obvious who wears Lauren’s face the most.Capt. Joe Qualters of the Bloomington Police Department said more than 1,800 tips regarding the case have been received since the fateful night of June 3. “The focus of the investigation has not changed, and it continues to be to find Lauren and determine the circumstances surrounding her disappearance,” he said in a statement.It seems the same determination rings true for those closest to Lauren. The Spierers’ days begin at 4:30 a.m., sometimes 5 a.m., and rarely ends before midnight. The days are filled with entering volunteer information into Excel spreadsheets, updating missing person posters, reading blogs and constantly brainstorming new ways to raise awareness. Their website, findlauren.com, was recently revamped and now includes a YouTube compilation of music, photos and short video clips of the IU sophomore. When viewers see everything from baby pictures to collegiate memories, all set to lines such as “I can’t believe you’re gone…I feel you in the wind,” the smiling blonde’s disappearance becomes painfully real.The missing information, the Spierers said, occupies the greatest reach of devastation. Not knowing is the greatest torture.Rebecca Lefkowitz, Lauren’s best friend since 7th grade and a student at the University of Wisconsin, is flooded daily with memories of a thoughtful and loyal girl that was often mistaken for family instead of a friend.“I remember getting our nails done and them always asking us if we were sisters, even though I have brown hair and am very tall and she has blonde hair and is very small. We always walked out of the nail salon singing the theme to the Tia and Tamara show: ‘Sister Sister, never knew how much I’d miss ya,’” Lefkowitz said. “I’d give anything to do that again with her.”Both Lefkowitz and the Spierers expressed hope that the student body’s return would shed new light on a case they refuse to give up on. They said they are constantly reassured by the thought that someone, somewhere, knows something. And until information gets out, Robert Spierer advised extra caution for IU students.“Be more diligent about safety. Be with someone you can trust, not just an acquaintance,” he said. “I’m amazed…we’ve still seen girls walking home barefoot, alone, late at night.”As for the woman that wears the same face as her daughter everywhere, Charlene Spierer takes comfort in the “amazing support” of the Bloomington community, in addition to the telltale memories supplied by Lefkowitz.“Becca texted me this morning and told me a story about how when the girls were 16, you know, going through girl things, Lauren told her, ‘Becca, the truth will come out,’” she said. “It’s time we hear Lauren’s words.”
(03/01/11 3:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A recent study has discovered a solid link between adolescent-age binge drinking and adult alcoholism.In the psychology world of complicated cause-and-effect questions and possible confounding variables, IU Professor Emeritus Dr. Richard Rose has led a 25-year study that is taking previous knowledge one step further: binge drinking, already known to be dangerous, might have lasting consequences on its abusers. Using what is known as the “co-twin control model,” Rose explained the study was conducted on a group of 2,5OO Finnish twin pairs, all starting at age 18. Within each set of twins, one drank heavily, often engaging in high-density consumption on weekends, while the other did not. At 25, the twins, exposed to the same external circumstances and sharing the same genetic structure, were evaluated for differences.The study found that the more heavy-drinking incidents experienced at age 18, the greater the dependence on alcoholism at age 25.These incidents were determined by what is known as the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index. “The RAPI is an 18-item (originally 23-item) self-administered screening tool for assessing adolescent problem drinking. It was developed in order to create a conceptually sound, one-dimensional, relatively brief and easily administered instrument to assess problem drinking in adolescence,” according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, who funded the study. In simpler terms, RAPI is a self-given questionnaire. Taken 10 times a year, this questionnaire helped establish the drinking habits of the twins and thus provided the connection between the twin involved in alcohol abuse to the same twin with later-life alcohol problems, Rose said.“The association is very striking,” Rose said. “The study’s findings show that binge drinking can have lasting consequences on adolescents since they are very vulnerable to the effects of alcohol; their brains are still rapidly developing.”Furthermore, the study also found that the association between binge drinking and later alcoholism was stronger in girls than in boys. Though there is yet no certain reason as to why, Rose said he guessed that it is because females are physically more vulnerable to alcohol, in addition to social pressures.Dr. Nancy Stockton, director of Psychological and Counseling Services at the IU Health Center, said she thinks this new study will definitely bolster many of the services they already offer. “Effective treatment approaches today to alcohol and drug use rest on principles of risk reduction and engaging the person to find intrinsic motivation to reduce problematic substance use,” she said.“For some students this may mean, ‘I don’t want an alcohol-related arrest to reduce my chances of getting into a professional school.’ So we would include the new information as we work with students on reducing these risks and thinking about their adolescent-use patterns.” Rose said he believes the greatest concern of the study is that around the world, whether in Finland or in the United States, adolescents are drinking more and at earlier ages, with many beginning at age 14. The danger of this practice is becoming increasingly visible.“It (the study) carries a sobering message, (it is) that ‘binge drinking’ has serious risks, and they are not just short-term consequences such as stumbling in the street. There are long-lasting consequences,” he said. “It’s not just a phase.”
(02/21/11 3:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The School of Fine Arts Gallery will be renamed the Grunwald Gallery of Art to honor John A. Grunwald, an IU alumnus and Holocaust survivor who died in 2009.Grunwald was born in 1935 in Budapest, Hungary. After moving to New York in 1950, Grunwald came to IU six years later and completed his undergraduate degree in economics. Though Grunwald would become an international businessman, Bloomington was his home, and he lived here for many years with his wife, Rita. It was in the SoFA Gallery that both of them fostered one of their numerous shared interests: art.After Grunwald died, his wife, Rita, gave the gallery a significant endowed gift.“I worked in the building for at least 25 years,” Rita Grunwald said in a press release. “I was a member of the Friends of Art since its inception and worked in the book shop for years. I feel as though I grew up in this building.”Dr. Patrick O’Meara, IU vice president for international affairs and close friend of Grunwald’s, said if Grunwald’s passion for life had to be summed up in a few interests or activities, the task would simply be impossible. O’Meara can give significant attributes of Grunwald from beginning to end without pause: Grunwald was a lover of animals, an international business man, an incredibly good host, a fine linguist and a Democrat to his core. And of course, he was a lover of art, particularly opera.But if asked to identify personality traits that defined Grunwald, O’Meara has only one answer: “John was ultimately one of the most fearless people I have ever known.”“There were many occasions where John attended gallery openings. The new talent and shifting exhibitions... John loved that,” O’Meara said.“I was very surprised and incredibly touched,” said Betsy Stirratt, director of the gallery since 1987. “I’ve been doing this for a while, and I always hoped it (an endowment) would happen before I left. The gallery is my baby — I’ve watched it grow and develop.”Stirratt and Rita Grunwald first discussed the endowment and renaming in late October; by November, the decision had been made.“This allows us to pursue ambitious projects, and most importantly, this establishes value for the gallery,” Stirratt said. “All important museums have endowments. We may look it, but I always felt we weren’t established. Now I feel we are.”O’Meara said he agrees that this change will bring significant benefits to IU since the gallery will have new opportunities to show exhibits that may have never traveled here before. Bloomington residents will be able to experience what they would have previously missed out on.“People give all the time for scholarships and buildings. This is giving money for a set of ideas,” he said. “Art is our legacy — a way to transcend ourselves — and it is lasting. The renaming is terribly appropriate. It resonates with John.”
(02/15/11 5:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Dr. John Colbourne, tucked away inside Myers Hall, has big news.As project leader and director of the Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics at IU, Colbourne, with more than 450 international scientists that compose the Daphnia Genomics Consortium, is literally changing the world. This change is making IU quickly become the hotspot for an up-and-coming and crucial field of science called environmental genomics. “Environmental genomics looks at how a population adapts to new environments. It studies the link between gene function and environmental conditions,” Colbourne said.Contrary to the terminology, environmental genomics extends far past the biology-majors-only warning sign. Though complex, this new field will affect every single organism living on earth, especially humans, though it began with a much different life form.Daphnia Pulex, or the water flea, is what Colbourne would describe as the “keystone species for freshwater environments.” Its significance grew tremendously when its genome was sequenced, making it the first crustacean to ever undergo the process. This is significant for a variety of reasons, but most importantly because of the distinctiveness of the Daphnia genome.The crustacean, so small that it is almost microscopic, has a total of 31,000 genes. That’s 8,000 more genes than a human being. And it doesn’t stop there.“More than one-third of Daphnia’s genes are undocumented in any other organism — in other words, they are completely new to science,” Don Gilbert said in a recent press release. Gilbert is a scientist in the Department of Biology and co-author of the Daphnia report.However, these new genes mean more to humans than a new addition to science. When put under environmental stress in their freshwater habitat, the Daphnia’s genes react and this reaction is observable. Welcome to environmental genomics. “Now that we know the genome for the Daphnia, we can perform extensive studies in the laboratory to determine which of these pathways are affected by which compounds,” said Dr. James E. Klaunig, a professor and chair of the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation’s Department of Environmental Health. “If the same or similar pathways are affected in the human cells, we would have an exciting bioassay model to further study human health effects of compounds.” This means that everyday heavy metals and chemicals — zinc, lead, nickel, pharmaceuticals and even chemicals found in shampoo — might all be tested on the Daphnia. “There are currently 80,000 chemicals in the environment. As to this day only seven percent have been tested and 2,000 come to the market every year. My hope is that this work is going to better involve us to do sound, environmental tests to better protect both humans and the environment,” Colbourne said.Since many of the scientists involved in the Daphnia project call IU home, the University is now enabled to take a leadership role in these important tests. Colbourne, however, also urges the individual role of the student.“Students are always welcome to knock on a door and say, ‘How can I participate in this?’ or ‘How can I get involved?’ The role of the University — the reason this is done here — is because the project can only make a true contribution by recruiting that next generation of scientists,” he said.