Consider subletting when you leave town
Whether planning to graduate early, considering traveling abroad or eyeing a great internship, IU students must first find a solution to their current housing contracts.
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Whether planning to graduate early, considering traveling abroad or eyeing a great internship, IU students must first find a solution to their current housing contracts.
We gather in the stands awaiting our IU athletes to run out on the court. The game starts and cheers erupt from the crowd. Spurring us on, another IU team of athletes fly through the air and backflip across the sidelines. They are more than just our pep rally. They are the cheerleaders, defending and representing the glory of old IU.
The amount of solid waste generated in Bloomington has been on the rise for years, thanks in part to population growth and economic ?expansion.
Whether planning to graduate early, considering traveling abroad or eyeing a great internship, IU students must first find a solution to their current housing contracts.
Whether it’s in between “Scandal” commercials or study breaks, keep up your fitness with these 5 at-home exercises. INSIDE magazine shows how working out at home is possible and fun without trekking out in the cold.
Whether planning to graduate early, considering traveling abroad or eyeing a great internship, IU students must first find a solution to their current housing contracts.
One of the recreational sports clubs on the IU campus is not quite like the others. They run. That’s it.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU has named Maurer School of Law professor Susan Williams the winner of the 2014 Tracy M. Sonneborn Award.The Sonneborn Award honors the research and teaching of an IU faculty member. It is named for the IU biologist, Tracy M. Sonneborn, a renowned geneticist and teacher.Williams is a Walter W. Foskett Professor of Law and director of the Center for Constitutional Democracy.She is awarded the honor for her work in constitutional theory, feminist jurisprudence and gender equality, according to the release.Throughout her career, Williams has helped promote diversity within social groups.She has worked with ethnic minority groups in Burma, South Sudan, Liberia, Northern Africa and Vietnam, where she has created democratciesfor each country. She has authored several books, including “Social Difference and Constitutionalism in Pan Asia” and “Truth, Autonomy and Speech: Feminist Theory and the First Amendment.” At the law school, Williams teaches a first-year course on property law and courses on feminist jurisprudence and the First Amendment and constitutional design. “Susan Williams is truly deserving of the Sonneborn Award,” Provost Lauren Robel said in the release. “She is widely recognized for her path-breaking scholarship on constitutional theory, and she is an inspiring teacher who brings out the best in her students. “Her fearless work in constitutional design has helped empower marginalized populations in some of the world’s most troubled regions.”The Sonneborn Award contains a $3,500 award and a grant of $1,000 to support any project the recipient conducts, according to the release.Williams will give a speech at the annual Sonneborn Lecture in the fall. Jessica Campbell
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>FROM IDS REPORTSIU President Michael McRobbie will be traveling to Beijing, China, to open a new IU office Saturday and will return May 30. The new office will establish and renew agreements with higher education institutions of the area, as well as meet with alumni, business and governmental officials, according to a press release. The trip will also extend to Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong. Accompanying him will be IU Vice President for International Affairs David Zaret, IU First Lady Laurie Burns McRobbie and IU Foundation president and CEO Dan Smith. While overseas, McRobbie and U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy will meet with the leaders of Waseda and Osaka Universities in Japan and will honor the Japan chapter of the IU Alumni Association. He will also present the Thomas Hart Benton Medallion to Tsuyosi Tsutsumi, a former professor of the Jacobs School of Music, according to a press release.While in China, McRobbie will manage the launching of the new office, creating another international bridge with the universities, similar to the office that IU opened this past year in India. McRobbie will present another Hart Benton Medallion to alumnus Vincent Mo, the chairman and CEO of SouFun Holdings, according to the release.After leaving China, McRobbie will meet with U.S. and Vietnamese officials to help the presence of IU in Vietnam. He will be joined by executive associate dean of School of Public and Environmental Affairs, David Reingold, and SPEA professor Anh Tran. At IU, the study of Asia includes more than 20 departments and schools. The teaching of Asian studies is now part of the core curriculum for the new School of Global and International Studies. Overall, there are about 5,150 Asian students who make up more than half of the international student enrollment at IU, with 3,500 students from China, 80 students from Hong Kong, 155 from Japan and about 75 students from Vietnam and Singapore, according to a press release. And the number of IU students studying in these countries increases each year. This past year, nearly 300 students traveled to China and the other countries McRobbie will be visiting for international studies, stated in a press release.These types of trips are significant for IU to remain one of the most internationally focused universities, McRobbie said in the release. “Previous trips like this have led to our forging new alliances, and we are confident that our efforts to build bridges with leading institutions in Japan and Vietnam will prove successful,” he said in the release. “We also are excited about seeing many of our proud alumni in these countries as well as in Singapore and Hong Kong.”This trip will be McRobbie’s fifth journey to China during his presidency, and he will become the first standing IU president to travel to Vietnam. Jessica Campbell
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The University celebrated its 185th graduation commencement Friday and Saturday, honoring 8,530 degrees to 8,241 graduating students. On the distinguished stage, President Michael McRobbie, Provost Lauren Robel and many more who play a significant role in the success of IU stood overlooking the rows of students who awaited the words they had been looking forward to for years — “Congratulations, graduates.”Graduate CommencementFour graduates all receiving their master of public health degrees from the School of Public Health stood outside the doors of Assembly Hall making finishing touches on their gowns and snapping photos. These four students — Desiree Chenault, Hannah Boyer, Elizabeth Peyton and Erin Adams — all met and bonded during their years in the master' s program. Chenault said it didn’t feel like the end. “It doesn’t feel real,” she said. “Still abstract.”Boyer said she agreed.“This is way more special than undergrad graduation though,” she said. “We became really close while in the program. That is one of the differences from undergrad.”McRobbie welcomed students, families and friends of the graduate commencement to Assembly Hall Friday. His speech was followed by “The Star-Spangled Banner,” sung by Gwyn Richards, dean of the Jacobs School of Music, and an invocation led by Father John Meany of St. Paul Catholic Center.McRobbie then awarded Paul O’Neill, former United States Secretary of the Treasury, with an honorary doctorate of humane letters.O’Neill came to IU in 1966 while on leave from his government post. He completed a master of public administration degree.“Whatever you do in life, make time to have fun,” O’Neill said in his address. “Put yourself in the way of opportunity. Let it happen to you, and if you are as fortunate as I have been, it will work.”In his introduction, McRobbie expressed his deep appreciation of O’Neill’s presence at the ceremony and his support for the University.O’Neill, a philanthropist for IU, has presented the School of Public and Environmental Affairs with the largest endowment in its history — a donation of $3 million. “Secretary O’Neill is a generous philanthropist,” McRobbie said in his introduction for O’Neill’s speech. “He has maintained strong ties with the school and has come to speak to students over the years. We are deeply grateful.”McRobbie then spoke to IU graduates before offering the podium to Robel for the conferral of degrees. She introduced each dean of the schools, and he or she recognized those who were graduating from their particular school. Undergraduate CommencementHanging from the caps of each student was a different color tassel, symbolizing the designated school he or she has been a student of for their undergradute career. The tassel color differed and the school they stood for differed, yet the students sitting in Assembly Hall Saturday graduated together as one, representing the 2014 class of IU. Undergraduate exercises were split into two 90-minute ceremonies. All schools outside of the College of Arts and Sciences attended the 10 a.m. commencement. The College ceremony took place at 3 p.m.Graduates entered in a single file line, smiling ear-to-ear and scouring the audience for friends and families. The Herald Trumpeters sounded their trumpets as they began fanfare, playing the short musical flourish harmoniously in euphonic synchrony. The audience silenced, and the procession began.The Grand Marshal led the platform party procession — administration, commencement speakers, trustees and deans — followed by the heraldic banners graphically symbolizing the different schools at IU.In his welcome address, McRobbie highlighted the significance of a college degree and acknowledged that the graduation ceremony doesn’t adequately commensurate the students’ years of hard work.“Earning a college degree is an unparalleled accomplishment,” McRobbie said. “Our ceremony today is brief compared to the years of diligent work that these candidates have invested in their education.”Irish president Michael D. Higgins was conferred an honorary doctorate of humane letters and delivered both undergraduate commencement addresses.Higgins attended IU for two years before receiving his master’s degree in sociology in 1967. In his speech, he reminisced about his time at IU. “I wish that all of you had as pleasant a time and, even more important, as interesting a time of discovering achievement here at Indiana University as I had 47 years ago,” Higgins said.He cautioned the graduates against intellectual hubris, urging them to remain open-minded.“Those who have the benefit of education must always guard against an arrogance of knowledge,” Higgins said. “They must always base their intellectual endeavors on the merits of curiosity, equality, respect and must remain open to new ideas.”These new ideas and experiences can come in many ways, which student speaker Christopher Kauffman reflected on in his speech Saturday morning. The prospect of moving into a dorm freshman year with a randomly assigned roommate, flying alone in Beijing for a study abroad program, nail-biting during IU sporting events, joining a fraternity, writing a senior thesis, going on the road with a rock band, and testifying in front of Senate Committees were just some of the uncomfortable experiences Kauffman was met with during the past four years.“I have found merit in being uncomfortable,” Kauffman said. “At the time what seemed so unbearable now seems so integral to my life in the form of lasting friendships, passions for travel in my field of study and a closer connection to this University.”Despite graduation being the formal end to some graduates’ education, Kauffman said he believes students never stop learning.“We can always be students,” Kauffman said. “We can always explore, inquire and try new things. This education transcends pen, paper, textbook, touching every aspect of our lives.”Parker Mantell, the student commencement speaker at the afternoon ceremony, delivered a triumphant message of overcoming adversity and combating doubt with confidence, a message he deemed imperative. “The message I have to share is one that must be heard,” Mantell said. Mantell, who has a speech disorder, graduated with a degree in political science and has completed internships in the Washington D.C., offices of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Senator Marco Rubio and in the office of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. “Far too often society has instilled and reinforced the idea that those of us with disabilities are to remain disabled and perhaps even incapable,” Mantell said. “We have been tacitly yet resoundingly told to doubt both ourselves and our abilities.” Doubt has killed more dreams than failure ever will, he added.Mantell concluded his address by challenging the graduates.“Imagine what you are depriving the world of if you never dare to achieve your purpose,” he said. “I challenge you to stop believing in those who cast doubt upon you and to start believing in yourselves.”Mantell’s address was met with a roaring 30-second standing ovation. “I think he had a really sincere speech,” IU graduate Barton Girdwood said. “It was really emotional for me.”Following the student commencement addresses, the class of 2014’s degrees were awarded.McRobbie made his closing remarks, and the ceremony ended with the singing of IU’s alma mater, “Hail To Old IU.”As the commencement came to a close, emotions ran high.“I feel liberated but bittersweet at the same time,” IU graduate Stephen Stepnoski said. “It really didn’t hit me until I walked out of Assembly Hall.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Concluding the weekend of graduating commencements, pictures and tears, was one more ceremony, presented by the IU Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program. It was an intimate gathering with just eight seniors, family and friends, and fellow military personnel. Similar to their colleagues of IU, these men and women will leave IU as students, but will emerge into society as lieutenants for the United States Military. Lieutenant Sara Wilson is among this small group of individuals. Beginning her training as an acive duty nurse in Texas, Wilson said she is honored to be a part of such a great program and group of people.“We are very close and work well as a team,” she said. “We respect each other. It is like being part of a family here.”The rest of the “family” included Angela Bowman, Nicholas Dutton, Benjamin Krebs, Alexander Pappas, William Thomas, Spencer Tigges and Joshua Whisler. These students were honored in in the Whittenberger Auditorium of the Indiana Memorial Union Sunday. The ceremony began with the introduction from Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Hoch, professor of military of science, welcoming the loved ones of the graduates and presenting the Colors and the singing of the National Anthem. An invocation was said by David White of Campus Crusade Ministries. Hoch also presented to the audience the guest speaker, Brigadier General Ivan Denton, who, after graduating high school in 1982 in Paoli, Ind., served as an infantryman in the Indiana Army National Guard. While still enlisted with the Guard, he joined the IU ROTC program. Denton graduated from IU in 1986 with a commission as an infantry officer, a distinguished military degree, and the George C. Marshall Leadership Award.He served four years in the Korean demilitarized zone before leaving to continue his work for INARNG and is currently serving as the National Guard Bureau’s director of manpower and personnel.Denton spoke of the importance of the preparation of the commissionees during the next 18 to 24 months. He also issued advice for the young militants, about being a successful leader and how to balance life with the responsibilities with which they will soon be entrusted.“You come to the army to make an impact, to lead,” he said. “And I challenge you to be the best leader you can be.”But of course, he said, there are no perfect leaders. “You have standards in which you will instill on others,” Hoch said. “But they must first be met by you.”Denton then addressed the parents and loved ones of the graduates, reminding them of the oath their children are going to make. “Your child will be endowed with an extreme amount of power,” he said. “They will have decisions to make or don’t make that can get someone killed.”These decisions are what White helps with during the four years of the cadet program.White, who has worked with the ROTC program for the past three years, said as the chaplain for the program, he cares for the spiritual well-being of the cadets. He serves as liason between cadets and religious advisers found on campus.“I help the cadets deal with tough issues and the stress of life, or with college,” he said. “I help them get through things. Life at home doesn’t stop. Things are always going to be hard.”The choice these eight seniors made to go into the military life was a hard one as well.LTC Hoch said less than one percent of the U.S. population is enlisted in the military. Addressing the parents of the students, he said they are now the parents of a person in the military, a group of people that deal with issues only they can understand. “What you see on the news will impact their lives,” Hoch said. “You will watch the news and have concerns that only other army families will feel.”Yet, Wilson’s parents said they are excited and proud of the decision she made as a senior in high school. “Not having any military people in the immediate family, it was a good learning experience for us,” Sara’s mother Cathy Wilson said. “Sara had a lot of support in the program that led to her success and graduation.”Despite the different paths on which the eight lieutenants will embark, Denton said to remember to have fun being a lieutenant and preparing for leadership.“For goodness sakes, it is not the destination. It is the trip,” he said. “And for goodness sakes, enjoy that trip.”
Whether planning to graduate early, considering traveling abroad or eyeing a great internship, IU students must first find a solution to their current housing contracts.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bret and Christine Eartheart presented “Art of Thriving Relationships” Tuesday night at the Venue Fine Art & Gifts. Married for 11 years, the couple demonstrated the poisons and goals people deal with and should strive for while engaged in a relationship. In the gallery, stuffed full of sculptures and paintings, a small gathering of Bloomington residents listened and nodded along to the couple’s PowerPoint presentation.“A relationship is like a garden,” Christine said. “It is always growing or dying. It always needs tending to it.” Bret and Christine pointed out key factors of an unsatisfactory marriage or relationship, such as defensiveness and secret holding.The Earthearts founded the Center for Thriving Relationships in January 2013. At the center, they lead and counsel people as Certified Conscious Loving Coaches. Working with community members through social work, therapy and counseling as individual professionals, the Earthearts decided to combine their forces and exhibit their work on healthy relationships during retreats, festivals and conferences together. The Venue, owned by Dave and Gabe Colman, is a regular meeting place for local Bloomington shows and projects. Dave Colman said there are a wide range of presentations every Tuesday night. On Fridays new shows and openings are introduced.The first event organized by the Venue in 2014, members of the Bloomington community who were in relationships attended alongside those who weren’t, interested in both the speakers and topic presented. Sally, who wished to not give her last name, but is a long-time occupant of Bloomington, said she came to the show tonight out of curiosity about the Earthearts.“I have not seen them and our paths have not crossed, so I was curious about them,” she said. “And I am curious about relationships. Partly because I’m in one and I want it to go well.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Audrey Brinkers has worried about food insecurity in American cities since high school. Upon arriving at IU, Brinkers, a biology major who is interested in sustainable agriculture, found the IUB Campus Gardens Initiative, an Office of Sustainability project that promotes environmental and social sustainability through gardening practices.“It never made sense to me that there is food insecurity in cities when there are tons of places to grow food,” Brinkers said.Brinkers works as the coordinator of the IUB Campus Gardens, and volunteers to tend the two gardens owned by the initiative. The first garden created was the Bryan House Garden, located on the east lawn of the Bryan House behind the Musical Arts Center. The Hilltop Garden, located on 10th Street near Tulip Tree Apartments, is the main garden used by the group and comprises 8,500 square feet of space. The initiative meets every Friday afternoon at one of the pre-designated gardens, Brinkers said. The first meeting of the semester will take place this Friday from 4 to 6 p.m.Though there is significantly less work in the winter, there are still tasks to complete, she said. “We will be planning and coordinating for the spring,” Brinkers said. “And hopefully we can get our hands in the dirt a little bit with weeds and compost.”The IU Campus Gardens Initiative was founded in 2011, starting out as a small effort to educate and inspire students and the community to practice sustainability and food production, Brinkers said. Today, the initiative conducts weekly meetings, gathers volunteers and distributes products to campus, and has created the Garden Corps Program.The garden harvests vegetables, fern plants and herbs and grows fruit trees and bushes. The produce collected is then sent to various locations on campus, including Wright Food Court and the Indiana Memorial Union, or it’s sent home with garden volunteers.Sophomore Ellie Symes started working for the Garden Corps last semester. “Being in Garden Corps means working with a small team to help lead volunteer workdays, pursue individual projects, attend educational field trips and discuss activities in and around the garden,” Symes said. Symes, who is majoring in environmental management, said the initiative is a great way to meet new people who volunteer at the gardens throughout the year.Volunteers are composed of students, Bloomington residents and student organizations like fraternities and sororities. Though the warm weather inspires more people to help, there are many dedicated volunteers who show up every week in spite of cold temperatures, Symes said.In the winter, the group grows starters from seeds planted inside greenhouses and continues to produce vegetables inside the hoop house, a tunnel structure for heating plants and soil.The spring season will jump-start after spring break, beginning a routine of meetings twice a week which will discuss bigger projects.Projects will include the gardens changing from organic to permaculture gardens, which will be more sustainable and self-efficient systems, Symes said.“We have several individual projects in the works, such as edible mushrooms, greek involvement, sustainable soil practices, medicinal herbs and a few others,” Symes said.Symes is also contuinuing on a personal mission she began last semester: the establishment of a beekeeping program. Individual projects are part of the IU Campus Gardens’ goals for the upcoming season, Brinkers said.“Our goal has always been to reach out to students,” she said. “It is closer to being met, but the garden is always changing.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Whether planning to graduate early, considering traveling abroad or eyeing a great internship opening, IU students must first find a solution to their current housing contracts.Subletting is the first choice. Though a hard decision, it allows you to leave campus without wasting lease money. Trusting someone to take care of your home and your furniture and pay the rent is risky. It’s a lot of control to give to one person, usually a stranger.December graduate Scott Minton and a Bloomington property manager offered advice on stress-free, secure sublets.Talk to your landlordUnless you want to risk ?having to pay the three months your sublessee chose not to, talk to your landlord and make a contract. Paperwork signed by you and the sublessee will transfer ownership to the new tenant, but if the sublessee fails to make payments, responsibility will again fall on you.Start earlyPost ads in the Indiana Daily Student Classifieds and OneStart Classifieds, canvas bulletin boards in campus buildings and cover the walls and poles on well-trafficked streets and bus stations.“My family and I used a couple outlets to find someone to sublet,” Minton said. “We tried Craigslist and the IDS Classifieds. There were a lot of spam requests, but we found a couple people legitimately interested in my apartment, and their background seemed to check out fine.”Help out with paymentsWhen desperate, offering to pay the utility bills or part of the lease is a good way to find a more willing customer. Offering a good deal will help, but make sure you work out payment options.“To help us find someone to sublet, we decided it would be better to offer a discounted rate for the lease,” Minton said. “We’re covering one-fifth of the lease and paying for the parking that our unit provides, but the subletter is in charge of utilities.”You are still responsibleThough you don’t live at the residence anymore, your name is still on the lease, and all damages come out of your security deposit. Landlords will get their rent no matter what.“If the subletter does not pay the rent, the tenant or other tenants are responsible,” Scott Gilbert, general manager of Hoosier Rentals, said. “Sometimes there are parent forms that force the parents of the tenants to send the rent.”NegotiateOffer to pay any sublet fees required by the landlord, as they can cost up to $200, according to Hoosier Rentals. “We require a deposit from the future subletter,” Gilbert said. “It helps keep responsibility for possible damages.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>June 12 was our last day in Eldoret, Kenya.It was our last day seeing our partners and the last chance to change anything about our reporting.The professors of both IU and Moi University organized a great going away party for the Hoosiers. There were pictures, speeches, singing and thank-yous lasting the four-and-a-half hours.In America, we eat, chat and snap pictures to get it out of our system before the serious part comes, right? Well, not in Kenya. Speeches were made one after the other, each one more emotional than the first.The chancellor and dean of Moi University and heads of the Department of Communications also came out to thank us for the reporting we did and the lives we touched.It was interesting for us, the Americans, to be thanked for the trip. For us, the trip to report on HIV and AIDS was an unbelievable opportunity to experience a new culture and work alongside a foreign counterpart.We had a duty to report and tell stories to the best of our ability, and we could not have done as well without the help of the Moi staff. But it was everyone from Moi who was thanking us to no end. The dean thanked us for coming, for making this relationship with the two schools the best it could be. The night really made us see just how important our work was to Kenya and its citizens. It was definitely an experience I will never forget.After speeches made by the professors, everyone was moved to tears by two talks spoken from our masters students, Michael Ollinga and Heather Robbins. They talked about how the relationship between the IU and Moi students was quickly transformed into a friendship rather than working partners. We were able to exchange small gifts to each other, the Americans giving away IU gear and trinkets and the Kenyan students giving us Moi University mugs. Then, after a surprise song sung by two Kenyan girls, we wiped away our tears and enjoyed our last meal together. Goodbyes are the same in Kenya. Tears, sad smiles and knowing we might never see each other again loomed over us. Hugs were exchanged and we made sure our “Friends” status on Facebook was confirmed before we departed.“Goodbye is never painful, if we know we are going to see each other again,” Ollinga said at the end of his speech.For this group, I know that is true.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>June 12 was our last day in Eldoret, Kenya.It was our last day seeing our partners and the last chance to change anything about our reporting. It was the last time our two classes will have met together as one.The professors of both IU and Moi University organized a great going away party for the Hoosiers.There were pictures, speeches, singing and thank-yous that lasted the four-and-a-half hours we were there.We all met in the banquet hall where our meal was catered in.In America, we eat, chat and snap pictures all at the beginning to get it out of our system before the serious part comes, right? Well, not in Kenya.Many speeches were made one after the other, each one getting more emotional as they went on.The dean of Moi University as well as the Chancellor and heads of the Department of Communications also came out to thank us for the reporting we have done and the lives we have touched.It was interesting for us, the Americans, to be thanked for the trip. For us, the trip to report on HIV and AIDS was an unbelievable opportunity to experience a new culture and work alongside a foreign counterpart.We had a duty to report and tell stories to the best of our ability, and we could not have done as well without the help of the Moi staff.But it was everyone from Moi who was thanking us to no end.The dean thanked us for coming, for making this relationship with the two schools the best it could be.The night really made us see just how important our work was to Kenya and its citizens. It was definitely an experience I will never forget.After speeches made by the professors, everyone was moved to tears by two talks spoken from our masters students, Michael Ollinga and Heather Robbins.They talked about how the relationship between the IU and Moi students was quickly transformed into a friendship rather than working partners.We were able to exchange small gifts to each other, the Americans giving away IU gear and trinkets and the Kenyan students giving us Moi University mugs.Then, after a surprise song sung by two Kenyan girls, we were able to wipe away our tears and enjoy our last meal together.Goodbyes are the same in Kenya.Tears, sad smiles and knowing we might never see each other again loomed over us.Many hugs were exchanged and we made sure our “Friends” status on Facebook was established before we finally departed the banquet hall.“Goodbye is never painful, if we know we are going to see each other again,” Ollinga said at the end of his speech.For this group, I know that is true.– campbjes@indiana.edu
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In fifth grade, my teacher told my parents I had an attitude problem. I still do sometimes, but in America we can all say that is a common attribute, right?I have been in Kenya for almost a week and a half, and I have never spent so much time shaking hands, saying “hello, good morning” and meeting so many new people. Walking down the street, vegetable sellers smile and say hello to us, the 12 white girls in missionary skirts and sunburned faces. Shaking hands is the initial greeting when meeting someone in Kenya, whether meeting him or her for the first time or seeing an old friend. Abraham Mulwo, a professor at Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya, told us not shaking hands upon introduction is extremely rude. When we met our Kenyan partners, the 12 Moi University students we are teaming up with to report on HIV/AIDS in Kenya, it was a long line of hand-shaking and awkward smiles as we tried to remember how to say hello. In Swahili, the official language of Africa, there are several different versions of greetings that we can say to people. “Jambo,” “Hodi” and “Sasa” all mean hello, and “habari yako” means “how are you?” So when being introduced there is a rushed blur of words and phrases and hopefully you responded with the right answer. “Just answer ‘nzuri’ to any question, and you should be okay,” IU School of Journalism professor Jim Kelly said. Nzuri means “good” or “fine” in Swahili. Bit by bit, we are picking up on the everyday phrases spoken by our partners and have learned that people pointing and yelling “Mzungo” at us, is not meant to be an insult. Our first encounter with this was passing a school bus filled with little boys coming home from school. With huge smiles on their faces they shouted, “Mzungo, mzungo!” like we were the coolest things on the road. Even when walking through the hospital and the AMPATH building (the organization between Indiana and Moi University) in Eldoret, and while reporting on our stories, we were all amazed at how open and willing everyone was to talk to us and share their story. The doctors make time out of their extremely busy days to explain the conditions of their lives and duties while working with the patients. Yesterday, my partner, Allylah Msenya, and I were personally taken to nutrition specialists by another contact to gain more information needed for our story. From there, we met with a client who was in the office to get her ARVS and monthly supply of food supplement. Though she only spoke Swahili, she was willing to talk freely about her status and troubles she faces in life. To Allylah, the openness and ability to easily find people who are happy to give you whatever help you need seemed completely normal.In America, I feel like journalists are stereotyped by what people see on TV. People think of the microphone in your face, imagining someone who only cares about getting the story no matter the cost. When talking to professionals back home, I try to take as little time as possible, seeing as they did not want to fit me into their day in the first place. Kenya is different. The doctors want to help journalists, the patients in the hospital want to tell their story and we, as journalists want to portray this as much we can. In America, there is a strong sense of secrecy in people, to shy away from others or ignore arising problems. In Kenya, the people of the hospital and AMPATH welcome all who need help or are there to give it. I almost feel like part of the community, and that is a good feeling. — campbjes@indiana.edu
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Despite the chilly wind, cloudy skies and cars whizzing by their “studio,” the devoted participants at Saturday’s Yogafest were not deterred from their practice and support for Pets Alive.At 9 a.m., an unprecedented installment of Bloomington Yogafest began its day on the lawn of the Monroe County Courthouse. The festival, coordinated by Ingrid Skoog, owner of the Art of Connection and Charlotte Walker, the Pets Alive development and communications director, acted as a fundraiser for Pets Alive. The day was broken up into hour-long yoga practices with live music and demonstrations at 11 a.m. The events officially concluded at 2 p.m.As part of Be Kind to Animals Week, the festival was organized to raise money for Pets Alive’s low-cost spay and neuter services. The bridge between Skoog and the yoga community with Pets Alive was established in the planning of the Dancing with the Celebrities event later this month. “We are bridging yoga and the community with Pets Alive for an inspiring combination,” said Skoog, a long-time yoga practitioner. “Pets Alive is an extraordinary organization. All proceeds we received today went to them.”Divided into four sections, the lawn was split into different styles of yoga, taught by various yoga instructors from Bloomington studios. Yoginis from Vibe Yoga, Know Yoga Know Peace, Yoga Mala and Mukti Yoga volunteered their time and expertise for the festival.Georgia Boonshoft,a recent graduate of the Jacobs School of Music, is an instructor for Know Yoga Know Peace and participated in Saturday’s activities. “This is the highlight of my month,” Boonshoft said. “It is a great mix of teachers and styles here.”Skoog said she was surprised that despite the cold temperatures, the turnout was sizeable. Walker said she agreed, confirming the future plans of making the event an annual yoga festival.“(Yoga) is a pretty big hobby in the community,” Walker said. “There are a lot of yoginis in Bloomington and it definitely seems like people are interested.”In addition to the yoga sessions, tables were set up in the yard presenting donated items for a silent auction. There was also a box welcoming donations for Pets Alive. The animal shelter offers low-cost spay and neuter services to animals in the Bloomington area, as well as over 20 more counties in southern Indiana. “We want to expand our services to more counties and get pets new and other services,” Walker said.In each yoga session, an instructor recommends devoting the practice to a person or thing. On Saturday, the participants were asked to devote his or her practice to the lives of animals and the problem of over-breeding.Incorporating yoga, the festival addressed a serious issue with a fun and powerful activity. Christine Eartheart, a participant and teacher during the festival said she believes in the powers of laughter and joy and uses them within her yoga practice.“Joy is in every being,” she said. “It has no boundaries.”Though Saturday was the last day of Be Kind to Animals Week, those working at Pets Alive still advise people to make donations in support of animals.Those who wish to make a donation can visit the Pets Alive website, www.spayneuterindianapets.com.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In “The Giver,” author Lois Lowry transports the reader to a society of sameness where people live without pain. In the play directed by Jeffrey Allen, the audience is transported as well, from the theater to the discovery of color and what life was once like in the book.The Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center began its student-run production of the classic book April 19 and ran until Saturday. The play was adapted from the script by Eric Coble.The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, is a dystopian children’s novel about the inheritance of memories to Jonas, a local boy. Memories of pain, joy, the past and colors, were discarded in the past by the book’s society and are only remembered by The Giver. Jonas learns about realities of his life and society by receiving this burden. After experiencing this negativity, he decides to leave the community behind in search of freedom. Located in The Rose Firebay, the stage was set up in gray panels, gray blocks and interchanging characters dressed in gray outfits. Representing Jonas’ powers of receiving and seeing memories, colors and sounds flashed through the theater, touching the audience with each flashback to a warm sunny day and sledding down a snowy hill. The cast was small, as most of the characters played multiple roles as needed. Heidi Mikac, a native to the Ivy Tech productions, played the main character, Jonas.Lily, Jonas’ little sister, played by Gina Di Crosto, and Rosemary, the previous receiver of memories, played by Valerie Dittemore, both said acting in the play was fun.“It was an energetic play and time,” Di Crosto said. “The Giver is one of my favorite books.”This production was the second play for both actors. “I wasn’t going for any specific part,” Dittemore said. “But I was happy to get Rosemary.”Dittemore said she is looking forward to partaking in more plays through Ivy Tech. The rest of play consisted of Billy Gilliam, Rhianna Jones, Jarrid Redden, Emily Scott, Rachel Harding and Derek Kaellner. Rachel Livingston, an audience member, said she came to see the play because she knew one of the actors and has worked on a previous production with the director.“It is a great way to support the local theaters,” she said.