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(09/09/11 1:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Jim Cushing remembers when CDs sold like wildfire. He remembers when an IU T-shirt cost $3.99. He remembers when physically going to a store was the only way to buy things.A lot has changed since those days, but Cushing has been manager of Campustown, an IU goods and apparel store, through it all. Now Cushing must manage the store through its biggest change — its closing. Campustown will close its doors for good Sept. 28. The store is part of a chain of college campus stores in six states. Campustown came to Bloomington in 1976. Originally named Discount Den, Campustown has changed locations three times. Cushing moved to Bloomington at the same time as the store. With the exception of a few years when he worked as the music buyer for the chain, Campustown has been Cushing’s life work.“I could do this job with my eyes closed,” Cushing said. Cushing said a number of factors has been driving the store downhill for years. The most obvious is the economy.The jump in the price of cotton has made T-shirt prices at the store rise from $6.99 to $9.99 in the last year.“The recession hurts everything,” Cushing said. “The price of rent, utilities and payroll all increase.”Technology has also lowered sales in the last decade. When students can choose from 50 websites to buy an IU T-shirt, they are less likely to come into the store, Cushing said. “We’re a local store, and we employ local,” Cushing said. “That used to mean something. But these days, not so much.”Cushing said he also wishes the store were in a better location. When it was located on Kirkwood Avenue, it received better foot traffic.The closing of the store has increased the number of customers, Cushing said. All items are currently marked 40 percent off. School of Optometry student Kayla Black decided to come back to the store when she heard about the sale.“When I was an IU undergrad, I used to get shirts custom made here,” Black said. “It’s really sad to see it close.”Cushing said that although he will miss interacting with the public, he is not too sad the store is closing.“Forty years in retail,” Cushing said. “I’d say that’s enough.”
(09/08/11 1:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>They sat in a wooden booth, chowing down on large subs. One was wearing a White Sox hat, the other a Bulls hat. It was clear then that customers Scott Mayer and Ross Jacobs are true to their Chicago roots. So when they heard that Potbelly Sandwich Shop, a Chicago staple, was opening in Bloomington, they said they couldn’t have been more excited. Potbelly Sandwich Shop opened Aug. 22 in Kirkwood Avenue’s Von Lee Theatre. It occupies the space where Dunkin’ Donuts used to be. Potbelly got its start in Chicago as an antique shop that also sold sandwiches. It became a chain in 1996 and now has more than 200 locations around the country. The menu at Potbelly is fairly small; it is comprised mostly of sandwiches, salads and milkshakes. General Manager Diedre Wagster said if you don’t see something you like, you don’t have to worry.“There’s sort of a secret, underground menu that our regular customers know,” Wagster said. “Basically, if we have the ingredients, we can make anything for you.”The shop also delivers by bike, but some customers said they come to Potbelly for more than the food. The atmosphere of the shop has attracted junior Mary Inserra to Potbelly three times this week.“I just feel more comfortable sitting here than in other sandwich places,” Inserra said. “It’s cozy.”The place is filled with old-fashioned lighting and mismatched antique furniture. On Thursday evenings and at lunch-time on Saturdays, Potbelly features live music from local artists, Wagster said. This event is one of the methods Potbelly is using to set itself apart from the many other similar eateries on and near Kirkwood Avenue, an area already densely populated with sandwich restaurants like Which Wich, Bloomington Sandwich Company and the Village Deli. But Wagster said she isn’t worried. “There’s an energy here you can’t describe,” said Wagster. “You just have to come experience it for yourself.”
(09/02/11 4:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Remember in the summer when you clicked a few buttons on OneStart to verify you were lawfully present in the United States? If you are one of the 42,160 IU-Bloomington students who clicked yes, it probably didn’t even phase you. You might have already forgotten about it.But for the 21 Bloomington students who declared themselves undocumented, those clicks made a difference. A $20,000 difference.The consequencesAs of July 1, undocumented students no longer qualify for in-state tuition rates. These students were previously eligible for resident-rate tuition if they had lived in Indiana for one year. Now, after the passage of Indiana H.B. 1402 and S.B. 590, they face a tuition rate that has more than tripled.The bill also revoked eligibility for any state or local financial aid and scholarships for these students.For some, the change means an end to an IU education. Others have resorted to taking far fewer classes per semester.The controversyIndiana is one of six states to prohibit undocumented students from getting the in-state tuition rate.Supporters of the new law say it’s only fair for Indiana resources to be granted to those who legally reside in the state.“It’s a common sense bill,” said Connor Caudill, president of IU College Republicans and an IDS columnist. “Those who are not subjected to income taxes should not receive the same benefits of those who pay their taxes.”Although less than .001 percent of IU students verified themselves as undocumented, Caudill said the bill was still needed.“If it saves taxpayers one penny, it is worth it,” he said.But opponents of the new law, like Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan, argue that the money saved will now be spent on executing the law itself.“The cost to taxpayers of all the documentation, paperwork and administrative time it’s going to take to enforce this law will be tremendous,” Kruzan said.Kruzan said he is opposed to victimizing undocumented students for more than financial reasons.“It seems like there are some in state government intent on making people feel more and more unwelcome in Indiana,” Kruzan said. “And their target is always people who don’t look or sound like the people making the laws.”The solutionThe University reached out to students who declared themselves as undocumented shortly after they completed the affidavit. “We talked with a number of students to see what options, such as payment plans, are available to keep them enrolled,” said David Johnson, vice provost of enrollment management.Lillian Casillas, director of La Casa Latino Cultural Center, said many of the undocumented students are the types of people every university wants to have.“You have students who are academically stable and very active in the community, and they are being punished,” Casillas said. “It was not their decision to come here.”Currently, 20 of the 21 self-identified, undocumented students are enrolled in classes for the fall semester. However, students registered for classes last spring before the bills were enacted. Therefore, Johnson said, their enrollment status does not indicate whether they will pay the increased tuition and remain at IU.
(08/29/11 1:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It was around 8 a.m. Saturday when alarm clocks started to go off. For the freshmen and transfer students who signed up for New Student Service Day, it was time to roll out of bed. They didn’t know where they would be volunteering or whether it would be worth their time, but 130 of them got out of bed anyway. What they received in return was a chance for new friends, new experiences and new perspective.***By the time the volunteers were divided into groups, it was 9:30 a.m.Service Day group leader Dan Murphy took his group to the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington, one of 15 service sites available.“All right, everybody, let’s circle up. How about you guys tell me your name, where you’re from and where you’re living this year.”His students were from every on-campus neighborhood. A few were with a friend from their residence halls, but most were meeting each other for the first time.“We’ve got a far walk today, so we’re going to do good for our bodies, and do good for others,” Murphy told them.As they walked, the students broke into groups of two or three and started up conversations.Sophomore transfer student Ashley Rojics walked alongside freshman Jessica Edwards.“It’s the small things you do that make a difference,” Rojics said to Edwards. “I used to be philanthropy chair for my sorority at IU-South Bend.”“So, sororities aren’t all that bad?” Edwards asked.“Oh no, I loved it. Are you thinking about rushing?”The two became instant friends. They chatted about their home lives, their aspirations at IU, even their religions. “Oh, let me give you my phone number,” Rojics said.A friendship was born.***By 11 a.m., the sparkly laces in freshman Jenna Pinkston’s green Converses were turning brown. “There’s just straight worm poop in here,” Pinkston said. “That’s just weird to me.”Pinkston and her newfound friends were mixing nutrients into a large pile of soil. The soil was for a garden being built on the rooftop of New Wings Community Partnership, a facility run by Middle Way House.“Hey, you’re lucky it’s not manure,” said Stephanie Partridge, facilitator of the garden project. Before Saturday, the student volunteers said they had never heard of Middle Way House. They had also never been past Kirkwood Avenue. “I don’t want to stay in a campus bubble,” Pinkston said. “I want to be involved in the community.”Her friends agreed.“Part of the reason I came out today is because I hoped it would open up opportunities to volunteer during the school year,” freshman Hannah Cooks said.The students were all proud to say they helped build a rooftop garden during their first weekend in Bloomington. The food grown in the garden will go to Food Works, a catering company that supports Middle Way House.“I didn’t know this was something I could do,” freshman Becca Parker said. “But it was one of those situations like, ‘well okay, let’s do it.’”***At 12:20 p.m., 13 exhausted students stretched out in Dunn Meadow. They had spent their morning at Boxcar Books and Community Center weeding, painting tables and responding to letters from prisoners .Before leaving, they were asked to reflect on what their service had taught them.Some said they want to continue volunteering and being involved outside of campus. Others said they knew their heavy school workload would keep them from doing so. But all agreed they made the right decision in waking up to come to New Student Service Day.“We may not get to see the end product of our work,” sophomore Christiana Graves said. “But knowing that we helped just feels good.”
(08/26/11 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Freshman Keaton O’Connor wants to travel the world. One day, he said, he’ll jump on a plane and study abroad. Until then, he’s getting a taste of the cultures of the world during his first week at IU.“I figured CultureFest was a pretty good place to start my plans,” he said. O’Connor and his friends were among the hundreds of people who attended the 12th annual CultureFest on Thursday. Since the first CultureFest in 1999, the Office of First Year Experience Programs has used the event as an introduction to cultural diversity on campus. “In a lighthearted way, it introduces a very serious subject,” said Doug Bauder, coordinator for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Support Services Office. “You can have fun learning about people who are different than you.”Guest speaker Preacher Moss, a comedian, encouraged students to be more than observers of diversity. As a self-described young, black Muslim whose first job was teaching in a Catholic school, Moss said he knows what it’s like not to identify with the culture of those around you.“Don’t just step outside of the box,” Moss said. “Understand the function of the box.”Following the presentation, students engaged in activities outside the IU Auditorium. Workers provided food, caricatures and henna tattoos beneath tents surrounding Showalter Fountain. Students who attended the presentation portion of the event received vouchers for free food. Two stages showcased 10 varying musical groups throughout the evening. Every campus culture center was represented, including La Casa Latino Cultural Center, the Leo R. Dowling International Center, the Asian Culture Center and the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.Some new students said they were right at home in the diverse atmosphere. Freshman Kristin Marvel said as a Caucasian, she was a minority in her high school. She chose IU for its international reputation.“Diversity is the real world,” Marvel said. “Why would I avoid it?” Others said they had never seen so many cultures in one place. “In my high school, the white kids never talked to the Hispanic kids,” freshman Nichole Herendeen said. “Now I’m at IU, and my roommate is from China. It’s a big change.”Due to its popularity in the series of Welcome Week events, CultureFest brought out upperclassmen who attended and staffed the event. “I get excited for this event every year,” said junior Araceli Gomez, employee of La Casa. “It’s just a great part of the IU experience.”CultureFest coordinator Melanie Payne said she hopes the event will set the tone for the rest of Welcome Week and the rest of the year for new students.“What an opportunity it is to get to know people who are not like yourself,” Payne said. “You’ll get to know yourself better.”
(04/11/11 1:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Some came for the food. Some came for the performances. Some came for the giant panda. But everyone who came got a little “Taste of Asia.” The 18th annual Taste of Asia took place Friday at the IU Auditorium. The event, which was sponsored by the Asian American Association, aimed to educate people and celebrate Asian culture.“In a place as diverse as IU and Bloomington, it is important that we promote understanding,” AAA President Jake Zhang said.As in many years before, Taste of Asia included a series of performances from local and national artists, including the Rod Rivera Band and afterschoolspecial, followed by an open buffet of Asian food.But this year’s event had unprecedented significance; it also aimed to raise money and awareness for the crisis in Japan.During the show, freshman Meiyi Pan performed the song “Speechless” by Lady Gaga “as a prayer for the victims in Japan,” she said.At the entrance, students from the Japanese Student Association collected donations in return for paper cranes. In the last few weeks, the group has raised more than $4,000 that it will send to the Japanese Red Cross. JSA President Kentaro Hirano said he was grateful for how positively the IU community has reacted to the tragedy in Japan.“I am surprised we have collected so much funding because Indiana is so far away from Japan,” Hirano said.He said he feels events like Taste of Asia help foreigners to better understand Japanese culture in such a crisis.“When you only see the disaster through YouTube, it doesn’t seem real,” Hirano said.Many who attended wanted to experience Asian culture for other reasons.“There is such a large Asian population on this campus,” freshman Bob Salek said. “I think it is a good idea to experience what they are used to.”Salek admitted that he was most excited to taste the free food donated by seven local Asian restaurants, including Chow Bar, Siam House, Sobon and Taste of India.But for 11-year-old Eugenia Ermosova, Taste of Asia was all about the performances. She couldn’t tear her eyes off the Bollywood-style dancers from the Bindi-Ana Girls Club.“It’s very interesting to see how they dance, act and what their different clothes are,” she said. “It is sometimes different than what we have because of the climate.”The event was celebrated in anticipation of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, which takes place annually in May.
(02/18/11 4:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If the Old Oaken Bucket were a recycling bin, it would not be in IU’s possession.The recycling and waste reduction rates at the IU-Bloomington campus are significantly lower than those of Purdue University, colleges across the country and the nationwide standards.This data comes from IU’s participation in RecycleMania, an eight-week competition among 630 college campuses that aims to get students involved in the green initiative.“Recycling and waste reduction is one of the most direct, meaningful ways that individuals can take personal responsibility for improving the environment,” said Alec Cooley, national program manager of RecycleMania.Thus far, results from the two “preseason” weeks and the first official week of the competition show that IU is struggling to take that responsibility.IU is currently ranked below Purdue, Ohio State University, University of Michigan and 153 other schools.Last week, the campus recycling rate was 18.6 percent. The national recycling rate is 33.8 percent, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.With six weeks left in the competition, those involved with RecycleMania are working hard to get recycling rates back to where they stood last year, when IU came out on top of all the schools in its competition division, including Purdue, Butler University and the University of Notre Dame. “Last year, our recycling rate finished at an average of 26.8 percent,” RecycleMania Coordinator Steve Akers said. “I would love for us to hit 30 percent this year.”Cooley, who reviews the results of all 630 participating schools, said the key to improvement is clear.“The schools that are most successful in participating are the ones that engage all areas of campus, not just a few custodial managers who are pushing recycling,” Cooley said.Akers and his team are trying to involve many groups on campus, including IU Athletics, to make recycling as convenient as possible for those on campus.“We are trying to make recycling a second-nature kind of behavior,” said graduate student Meredith Dowling, an intern for the Office of Sustainability. “There is an effort to make sure that anywhere there is a trash can, there is a recycling bin.”Recycle bins at athletic events, in offices and outdoors are all targets of this initiative. “If you go to any outdoor waste can on campus, I guarantee 30 to 50 percent of the so-called ‘waste’ that is in there is recyclable,” Akers said. “We have huge potential there.”The RecycleMania team is hoping initiatives like these will help jump-start IU’s success in this year’s competition. Despite a slow start, Dowling said that she thinks that IU can and should catch up. It just takes small changes she said.“In a very simple way, people can make a big difference on their campus, in their lives and in the wider world,” Dowling said.
(02/14/11 5:41pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Wherever you’re living, adding your personal touch is what makes your room feel like home. You don’t have to buy the latest overpriced, “vintage” décor accessory to pull it off; there’s no better way to decorate with a tight budget than to revamp items you already have. As a bonus, it’s good for the environment. Here are some ideas to get you started.What to do with...A textbook you can’t sell backMake it into a secret hiding place. Glue the pages together by painting on a mixture of glue and water. Cut a deep square into the pages with a box cutter. Hide your contraband (or whatever) conveniently on your bookshelf.*Works best with hardbacks.Large binder clipsAn inexpensive way to display pictures. Clip photo, place flat side of clip down. Enjoy your photos on desks, shelves, etc.Bottle capsCreate cool and useful magnets. Hot glue a round magnet to the backside of a bottle cap (beer bottles work best). Place on your fridge or whiteboard and display all those A+’s and 4.0s Magazine pages, postcards, fabric, etc.Make one of a kind wall art. You can put just about anything flat in a frame.Hang it and use variety to give your room personality with a little more class than plain old posters.Other quick ways to give your stuff a new purposePizza X Cups: Pencil/Pen holder for your deskAlcohol bottle: Flower vase (we recommend fake flowers, they last longer).
(02/07/11 2:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Big business is all about the green. Usually, that green is money.
On Friday in the Indiana Memorial Union, it was the environmental kind.
The first Sustainable Visions Conference was held to explore the
importance of executing sustainable practices in the business world.
“We were looking to provide a forum for discussion and education for
students to hear about how companies have been innovating and taking on a
leadership kind of role in the field of sustainability,” said sophomore
Christine Ball, company relations coordinator for the conference.
Hosted by the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity and the Kelley School
of Business’ Undergraduate Career Services Office, the conference
consisted mostly of presentations and discussions among student
attendees, four company representatives and the IU Office of
Sustainability.
The day opened with keynote speaker Sarah Caldicott, president and CEO
of Power Patterns. Caldicott challenged the students to think of
sustainability from all angles.
“We’re at ground zero,” Caldicott said. “When you’re at the beginning, you have the chance to shape what comes next.”
A breadth of information was shared from the business representatives,
whose companies ranged from Whirlpool, an appliance manufacturer, to
Transwestern, a real estate company.
“There is pressure for companies of all kinds to take on a more
responsible role and to revamp their processes so that they have less of
a detrimental impact on the environment,” Ball said.
Larry Boyle, the representative from InterfaceFLOR, a carpet
manufacturing company, said that going green is an investment that takes
time and collaboration.
“For business to be sustainable, it must be a long-term process,” Boyle
said. “At InterfaceFLOR, we look to nature as our engineer.”
Boyle’s company is in the midst of a campaign to completely stop importing oil for its products by 2020.
Much of the Sustainable Visions Conference took on InterfaceFLOR’s methods of looking toward the future.
“Businesses have a social responsibility to be sustainable because they
affect everyone in some way or another,” sophomore Jonathan Brown said.
“It’s about giving our children and grandchildren the same opportunities
that we have.”
At the end of the day, students had the opportunity to network with the
sustainability-motivated companies. Ball said she hopes everyone
continues to think about sustainability after the conference.
“We’ll all be out in the workforce one day,” Ball said. “These issues
aren’t going to go away. If anything, they’re going to become more
prevalent and pertinent.”
(12/10/10 3:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Food delivery on campus is part of the college culture. Pizza, cookies, breadsticks, Chinese food ... and now, fresh fruit. And you order it via text, thanks to IU Eats Fruit, a business venture started by senior Matt De Leon this year. The goal of the business, De Leon said, is “uber-convenient access to fresh fruit for dorm residents, individuals whose eating habits are crippled by mandatory meal plans and lack of transportation.”By “uber-convenient,” De Leon means that all of the fruit is ordered via text and delivered to the residence halls, making it easy for student customers of IU Eats Fruit to incorporate the simple process into their weekly routines.“Two or three times a week, I get a text from Matt with the current menu of what fruit he has available and how much it costs,” freshman Andrea Balzano said. “I reply with my order, which is always bananas, and Matt delivers them to the front desk of my residence hall that night.”The way students pay is through an online credit-based account, set up by De Leon. He said he aims to ensure his customers are getting their money’s worth.“I search for good fruit prices and the best quality of fruit,” De Leon said. “I always get my fruit locally sourced when possible.”When ordering from IU Eats Fruit, customers are looking for the variety they can’t find in dining halls, said freshman Emily Walling.“The dining halls always have the same fruit,” Walling said. “But this service provides me with many other options besides apples, bananas and oranges. I order kiwi and peaches once a week.”Currently, IU Eats Fruit serves about 13 customers. De Leon said the business is in its “primal” stages, but he and his partner, senior Brian Bollinger, said in an e-mail that they are implementing plans for large expansions starting in the spring semester.“At the moment, we are concentrating a lot of our time on refining the business’s operations so that it can be scaled up to serve all of Indiana University,” Bollinger said in an e-mail. “As we conduct more market research, we expect our growth plans to become solidified.”De Leon and Bollinger will be working with University of Notre Dame MBA student Shormilia Sarkar to enter their fruit delivery venture into the Notre Dame Business Plan Competition. They said they hope this process will refine their business to provide the best service to students at IU.“We simply want to provide students with convenient access to healthy, affordable fruit products,” Bollinger said. “I expect the journey ahead to be filled with rich learning opportunities, wild twists and, hopefully, a fruitful outcome for everyone.”
(10/07/10 2:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It was a change of dress for junior business major and self titled goal-setter Lindsay Edwards.Edwards is wearing a t-shirt, directing traffic at Memorial Stadium, just before the Akron football game. She wasn’t getting paid, she said, and her work was a far cry from her usual business networking activities.This year, the Kelley School of Business Women In Business club is working the parking lots at IU football games. This kind of work might not be what one would expect out of a club that promotes making its members “the best of the best.” But Edwards, the group’s vice president of communications, said she believe this temporary gig shows the group’s dedication and perseverance because for the first time ever, they had to reconstruct the way they raise funds. “We used to work ‘the bagel stand’ in the Kelley School,” Edwards said. “It sold bagels, coffee, cookies, muffins and that kind of thing. But with the renovations going on here and the future cafe in the SPEA library, we’re no longer allowed to have it.”The loss of the stand, Edwards said, was a detrimental loss to WIB’s revenue and image. The club, she said, serves to guide its members through education and job search, teach them to utilize their skills in business world and build their female confidence and ability.“We used to raise a significant amount of money through operating The Stand and were able to help other Kelley clubs earn money as well,” said senior Erin Duffy, vice president of finance. “But beyond the monetary impact, it was great for WIB’s image to have a business operating in Kelley.”The revenue the bagel stand previously generated, paired with corporate sponsorship, is what keeps the group afloat. “It’s not just a sign your name on the list club,” Edwards said. “It is structured like a company, so all 76 girls have an important role.”The group puts on a number of programs for the professional and personal development and also serves IU. Early next semester, they will be having both a business conference and leadership symposium that are open to all students.Because they have these goals, the group has not let the closure of the bagel stand slow them down.“Our Business Ventures Committee is currently working on new ways to raise funds to replace those lost by The Stand’s closing,” Duffy said.“We would like to find a project that allows us to involve the local community. With time, I am sure we will be able to come up with something just as profitable as the bagel stand.”Meanwhile, the executives said the job at Memorial Stadium parking lots is teaching these high-achieving women a few valuable lessons that are in line with everything their club represents. “There are people of all kinds out there doing the parking,” Edwards said. “It made me think about what I have. It made me appreciate the fact that I’m able to go to college.”