How to Fall in Love
I’m as ready as a guy will ever be. I decide to go with a button down shirt. AND I even shower. It may be a little rainy out to smell the love in the air, but hey, this is college. Anything could happen.
32 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
I’m as ready as a guy will ever be. I decide to go with a button down shirt. AND I even shower. It may be a little rainy out to smell the love in the air, but hey, this is college. Anything could happen.
Thom Atkinson is not a social media celebrity. But if you attend IU, you’ve probably read his work.
Along with skinny jeans and crop tops, the next generation won’t understand our fascination with Tinder. It’s the app that so many use, but so few admit to using. However, we have found four brave souls to share their experiences and insights on this viral app that has become such a quintessential guilty pleasure.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Entering through side doors of Franklin Hall to avoid a crowd of IU on Strike participants, the Board of Trustees gathered Thursday afternoon to complete one of the shortest meetings of the year.Unlike last year’s April meeting in Bloomington, there were no disruptions during the three committee reports and business meeting that approved all action items on the agenda.Interim Vice President and Chief Financial Officer MaryFrances McCourt led the finance and audit committee, focusing on improving student affordability and cost of living in Bloomington.“There are so many different facets to the affordability issue, we thought it would be important to understand a deeper level that goes into these metrics,” said Todd Schmitz, executive director of university institutional reporting and research.The committee presented a graph that compared student “net price” between large research universities. The net price of IU, a calculation that determines the average tuition a student pays after financial aid, was relatively smaller than most of the other universities on the chart. While the board was pleased with the results, they encouraged McCourt and her team to gather a peer-comparison of debt per student to see how IU matches up.“I’m positive that if you only look comparably, you kid yourself,” Trustee Thomas Reilly said, warning the committee to look beyond comparisons. “It’s better to be the best, but you don’t want to be the best of a group that isn’t doing well.”McCourt also cited the financial literacy program MoneySmarts, which incoming students will be required to take next fall at all IU campuses. The program is part of the IU College Affordability initiative.“There is no university that is doing this with the numbers that we are doing it,” McCourt said.The Facilities Committee, led by the vice president for capital planning and facilities, updated the board on a number of Bloomington construction projects on track to be completed by their set date, including Forest Dining Hall, Indiana Memorial Union Alumni Hall and Jacobs School of Music studio building.Chair of the Board of Trustees Bill Cast noted that the University preferred to fund new buildings through endowments and use University money to renovate and refurbish buildings that already existed. The new Jacobs building and the expansion to Kelley School of Business are both funded through Lilly Endowments. The new Rose Avenue Residence Hall is funded by auxiliary revenue bonds repaid through Residential Programs and Services revenue.“With every new building comes R and R,” Cast said. “To keep our footprint smaller, we refurbish old buildings.”Morrison and his Associate Vice President John Lewis reported that phase one of the $37 million Kelley School expansion and renovation is almost complete. The final product is estimated for completion by August 2014. The committee also noted the Bloomington campus has seen a 43 percent reduction in carbon emissions in the past year due to the University’s switch from coal to natural gas.The academic affairs committee meeting was brief, with Vice President John Applegate reporting on IU cyber security and a motion to officially honor fallen IUPD Police Chief Keith Cash.During the faculty report, Bloomington Faculty Council President Carolyn Calloway emphasized the importance of the state legislature staying out of affairs directly related with faculty and staff decisions.The board agreed.“Academia and curriculum are kept best in the hands of our faculty, and there are boundaries that legislatures can not cross,” Trustee Patrick Shoulders said.During the relatively brief business meeting at the end of the day, a small number of the total protesters who chanted outside Franklin hall filed into empty seats while the remaining crowd moved to Woodburn Hall.The audience remained quiet while the board passed all action items including renovations for Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, road improvements on 17th Street and Jordan Avenue, a Wells Library sprinkler and infrastructure renovations.IU on Strike did not interrupt or disrupt the meeting, but Cast was critical of the group, noting many of the problems proposed by IU on Strike had already been recognized by the Trustees. Solutions to these issues in regard to the university have long been in the works, he said.“I don’t think the protest is very effective,” Cast said. “I thought the response of the provost was very appropriate. If you have ideas to protest, you should overcome with your ideas.”Above all, the trustees appreciated thoughtful and well-articulated student voice, not “shooting from the hip,” he added.The trustees occasionally receive fiery emails from students, and often, they will compile those emails and make a board-wide response to the issues. If a student sent a member of the board a thoughtful, articulate email, that member may respond, he said.“I would ask, ‘Well, what have you done so far?’ and usually the answer is ‘Nothing…I have no idea what’s going on,’” Cast said. “It helps to know if you had a skeleton or a framework to hang something on.”The journalism, telecommunications and communications and culture merger as well as discussion about parking financing were pushed to meetings later in the year. The committees only had partial data on both issues, Cast said, so the trustees decided to consider those action items at a later date.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Board of Trustees will meet to make decisions regarding infrastructure and renovations at Herman B Wells Library, faculty tenure recommendations and promotions and renovations at Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity.The meeting was originally scheduled for Thursday and Friday but has been shortened to one day, on Thursday in Presidents Hall in Franklin Hall. Agenda items, such as 2014 tuition recommendations and the proposed merger of the School of Journalism and Departments of Communication and Culture and Telecommunications, will not be discussed until later meetings. Chair of the Board of Trustees William Cast said some agenda items were pushed back because they’re not yet ready for review. “Things are ongoing within the IU administration to gather data that aren’t ready to bring to the Board until probably June,” Cast said. “We’re in the middle of a legislative session, and, naturally, we have to look at what comes out of the legislature.”The trustees’ next meeting is June 20-21 at IU-Purdue University Fort Wayne.On Thursday, the Board will listen to reports from several administrative officials including IU President Michael McRobbie, Provost Lauren Robel and several IU vice presidents, including Vice President for Capital and Facilities Tom Morrison.All meetings are open to the public, excluding a private executive session at noon.Cast said IU trustees William Strong and Bruce Cole will most likely not appear in person at the meeting due to prior conflicts, but Strong will attend via a conference call.Despite IU on Strike planning a strike Thursday and Friday to coincide with the meeting, Cast said the IU trustees are planning to carry on the meeting as planned.“The agenda, the business, doesn’t know whether there’s a strike or not,” Cast said. “Whether it’s noisy or quiet, the agenda is the agenda. It’s neutral in that sense.”The Board of Trustees’ business meeting last April was interrupted by protesters who openly discussed grievances against the trustees and University. Despite the possibility of another protest, Cast said the board is preparing to continue as scheduled.“The last time there was a lot of disruption, there were very few action items on the agenda. It was mostly discussion,” Cast said. “If there are a number of action items, we would have to proceed no matter what disruption there was. If the disruption was loud and unruly, we would clear the room and then proceed with business.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Despite it not being an election year, Rep. Todd Young, R-9th District, visited College Republicans at IU on Monday night in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs to support student campaign volunteers and discuss his new role on two House Ways and Means subcommittees. “When I first ran for office in 2010, people looked a bit askance at this Bloomington Republican,” Young said. “But once we got toward the end, we were able to crank out thousands of phone calls. That was in large measure because of the efforts of many people here.”When an audience member mentioned he was attending law school, Young wouldn’t accept any excuses.“Maybe we can squeeze a few phone calls out of you,” Young said to laughs in the crowd.Currently on the final stop of a two-week congressional recess, Young typically speaks with the College Republicans once a semester.“He gives us the insight of everything that’s going on in Washington and where the Republican Party is going,” College Republicans Chairman Daniel Cheesman said. “He’s a big name and always gets people to come down.”Young, who received his law degree from IU and currently lives in Bloomington, touched on efforts by House Republicans to lower the U.S. corporate tax rates and work with the Affordable Care Act.“It’s going to be around for a while, and our goal on the Ways and Means Committee is to explore ways to improve the law — maybe with an eye to replace it with something that better controls costs,” Young said. “Unfortunately it’s not financed in a sustainable way.”After working with House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan on the 2012 GOP-proposed budget, Young and his colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee are currently working to reform U.S. tax code.“We’re reforming tax code for the first time in a quarter century, and though I dismissively and jokingly called this a boring thing, it’s actually very exciting,” Young said. “The federal government takes a lot of your money, and you’ll discover how mind-numbingly complex our tax code is. It can also get expensive. Our objective within the Ways and Means Committee is to simplify this whole process.”After answering questions about his path to Congress and other Republican ideals, he mentioned the importance of remaining a bipartisan resource for the Bloomington community, a traditionally left-leaning town compared to the rest of Indiana.“It’s important to know that, though this is a political gathering for political people, we’ve made a point to make a strong effort on our official side, not our campaign efforts, to make people feel represented,” Young said. “We are not running an ideological office, we are running an open office where people can feel like they’re represented.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Following IU President Michael McRobbie’s announcement of the IU Online Initiative last September, members of the new Office of Online Education are hosting a town hall meeting Friday for IU faculty and staff.The meeting is from 1:30-3:30 p.m. in the Georgian Room of the Indiana Memorial Union. Meeting facilitators include vice provost for strategic initiatives M.A. Venkataramanan and Office of Online Education director Barb Bichelmeyer, who will answer questions about the initiative as well as gather input and suggestions for the future of online education at IU.“It’s helpful to understand the details of the initiative and to know where the funds are coming from, where they’re being spent and what our priorities are,” Bichelmeyer said. “We’re there to answer those questions.”IU Online is part of a three-year, $8 million initiative between all IU campuses that looks to expand the role of online education at the graduate and undergraduate level, as well as explore new programs that can enhance the learning experience for students.The first objective of the program is to establish at least one online program in each graduate professional school on the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses by the fall semester of 2014. “We realized that the changing demographics of the world makes it harder for people to drop everything and complete graduate education,” Venkataramanan, who is overseeing the initiative’s effect on the Bloomington campus, said. “My role is to make sure the Bloomington campus stays on the cutting edge. Strategically, how do we tackle this brave new world of online education?”The initiative also looks to expand key “gateway courses,” typical general education requirements that often have high waitlists or are already taken by incoming students as dual-credit or advanced placement courses.Bichelmeyer said the emphasis for the smaller regional campuses such as Northwest and South Bend is to increase undergraduate online course offerings to accommodate the higher number of part-time and commuter students. In the past two years, the number of students taking online classes has increased from 14,000 in 2010 to 20,000 last fall, Bichelmeyer said. On the Bloomington campus alone, the number has increased from 2,400 to 3,500.IU currently offers roughly 80 undergraduate, graduate and professional level online degrees.“Our students are starting to ask for online programs, but the way we do that is to create an online infrastructure that matches our on-campus infrastructure,” Bichelmeyer said. “Our strengths have always been our faculty and facilities, so we have to remain student-centered and quality-focused in our course offerings.”Along with increasing the number of online classes and degree programs, IU Online is looking into several technological innovations in online education. This includes technology created by IU-Purdue University Indianapolis professor Ali Jafari called “course networking,” which combines services available in existing programs such as Oncourse with aspects of social media sites such as Facebook.“That also helps the hybrid educational system,” Bichelmeyer said. “The lessons that we’re working on are not only for fully online programs, but for hybrid and on-campus programs as well.”While funding for IU online is shared between the office of the president, the various campuses and University Information Technology Services, the long-term cost of new online programs is still up in the air.In a 2011 report “Strategic Plan for Online Education,” requested by McRobbie, School of Informatics and Computing Dean Bobby Schnabel said IU needs to educate policy makers and the public that online education generally is more, not less, expensive than on-campus education at both undergraduate and graduate levels,” and the University should price undergraduate online education at least as high as on-campus education.“In terms of affordability, there are many questions left to identify about the cost around online courses and programs because they require a lot more sophisticated infrastructure,” Bichelmeyer said. “But over time we may see that it’s possible for a strong return on investment that would allow us to offer online programs in a more affordable way, but I think it’s too early to tell.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the first time since its creation seven years ago, the Little Five Step Show will become the official Little 500 Step Show with an endorsement by the IU Student Foundation.After gaining access to the licensed title of “Little 500,” the event can finally take its place as a prominent event for all students, Union Board cultural events director Kelsey Padgham said.“I think it’s a huge statement on IUSF’s part that we’re so glad to be a part of,” Padgham said. “This is an event that Union Board prides itself of being a part of because we have historically missed this IU demographic on the campus in past events.”Organized annually by the Union Board and National Pan-Hellenic Council and now in collaboration with IUSF, the Little 500 Step Show features step teams from IU and NPHC fraternities and sororities such as Alpha Phi Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Kappa Alpha and Kappa Alpha Psi.While the event traditionally highlights African-American fraternities and sororities, Padgham said its recognition as a Little 500 event will help break the trend of Union Board sponsored events mainly drawing white students.“We use a scanning system as students enter our events which gives us basic demographic information, and the majority of the students that are coming to our event are white undergrads,” Padgham said. “One of our biggest missions is to bring in a more diverse group of students to our programs.”Former Union Board director and member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity Ron Gilbert — who is participating in the event this year — said the endorsement will help establish the Step Show as an IU tradition.“It’s one of the main events of the year as far as the black community goes,” Gilbert said. “I think it’s great that the university is recognizing that this has been happening for the past seven years. Because it’s being sponsored, it’s now being seen as a tradition that’s going to be an essential part of the future.”Despite optimism about this year’s turnout to the event on April 20 in the IU Auditorium, Padgham and Union Board are collaborating with other student organizations to further their mission to increase diversity at student events.In collaboration with La Unidad Latina Inc., a traditionally Latino fraternity on campus, the two groups are organizing Noche Durada for April 6 in the Memorial Union.The event will commemorate the 10-year anniversary of La Unidad at the IU campus, as well as an awards ceremony for student organizations that work to improve community unity and promote diversity.“We got involved with the Union Board to help us make it a campus-wide event,” Eric Amador, a member of La Unidad Latina, said. “We wanted to recognize organizations that live through our pillars. Promoting diversity, unity and involved in community service.” Amador, who admits to not attending many Union Board events in the past other than the Step Show, says the key for a student organization to reach out to a broader audience is its ability to work in a context that the audience already relates to.“I think the key factor is speaking the language,” Amador said. “I can only speak on my experience in working with Kelsey, but it really seems like Union Board is striving to speak the language. For the Union Board to sponsor our event, it shows that they’re trying to be in our shoes.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Due to decreased state funding for renovation and rehabilitation projects on Bloomington and other IU campuses, the University is currently facing roughly $700 million deferred maintenance for academic facilities. That number, including renovation and construction costs for campus auxiliary buildings such as residence halls and athletic facilities, adds to about $1 billion in total deferred maintenance costs for all of IU.“It’s money that we have not spent, but that we need to spend in the next decade in terms of major renovations,” said Tom Morrison, vice president for capital planning and facilities. “Our challenge is to find how we can finance that over time and not create a fiscal liability for our institutions.”Renovation and rehabilitation funding, commonly referred to as R&R, includes any maintenance, repair, renovation or construction on IU academic, administration and research facilities — whether it be a new lab in Swain Hall, a repaired roof on a library or a renovated classroom.“The problem is that it’s a ‘pay me now or pay me later’ problem,” Morrison said. “If the roof on your house needs to be replaced, you try to replace it now. If you don’t have the money to do that, when the roof actually leaks, it’s going to be a lot worse. It’s the same thing with University R&R projects, just add zeroes on the cost.”In the past 10 years, state funding for R&R projects gradually decreased unAtil all allocated funding was completely eliminated starting in fall 2011.Following the cut, the Board of Trustees approved and implemented a temporary R&R student mandatory fee of $180 per Bloomington student, which is still in effect. Student mandatory fees include health, activity and technology fees that students pay each semester. As major projects such as restoration of historic buildings in the Old Crescent have become a priority on the Bloomington campus by IU President Michael McRobbie, Morrison said finding ways to fund these projects has been a major challenge.The Bloomington campus alone spends roughly $25 million per year on renovation and rehabilitation projects. Of the $700 million being deferred, Bloomington accounts for roughly $480 million. “The problem is we should be spending about twice that number on an annual basis,” Morrison said.The value of academic buildings in Bloomington is about $4 billion. Morrison said the University should be spending at the very least 1 percent of that total on R&R, which would equal $40 million per year.“We’ve figured out how to have a band-aid approach, but we’re not really healing the wound,” Morrison said. “What we want is when you go into a class, you’re not thinking about the building around you. How that happens is that we need to invest in these systems.”Still, he said, there is hope for renewed state funding. The current Indiana state budget for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 recently passed by the House of Representatives includes revived funding for R&R projects. But with the Senate still left to approve of the bill, the question of whether state funding will return is up in the air.“We hope there’s a good end to the story,” Morrison said. “There seems to be a renewed interest in protecting the value of the buildings. We’re grateful that the House of Representatives made that investment.”Whether students will still pay a mandatory fee for R&R, is not known. It will be determined this summer when the Board of Trustees approves the final budget.The specifics of where and when these deferred maintenance projects are completed is still unclear, Morrison said. The only inevitable factor is that major renovations — such as restoration of Franklin Hall, new labs in Swain Hall and a series of projects at Wells Library — need to be accomplished, eventually.“We’ve got to figure out how we can finance them overtime,” Morrison said. “It doesn’t exist today, but the good thing is if you can spend an appropriation every year, you’re chipping away at it. You’re flowing in the right direction.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Due to decreased state funding for renovation and rehabilitation projects on Bloomington and other IU campuses, the University is currently facing roughly $700 million deferred maintenance for academic facilities. That number, including renovation and construction costs for campus auxiliary buildings such as residence halls and athletic facilities, adds to about $1 billion in total deferred maintenance costs for all of IU.“It’s money that we have not spent, but that we need to spend in the next decade in terms of major renovations,” said Tom Morrison, vice president for capital planning and facilities. “Our challenge is to find how we can finance that over time and not create a fiscal liability for our institutions.”Renovation and rehabilitation funding, commonly referred to as R&R, includes any maintenance, repair, renovation or construction on IU academic, administration and research facilities — whether it be a new lab in Swain Hall, a repaired roof on a library or a renovated classroom.“The problem is that it’s a ‘pay me now or pay me later’ problem,” Morrison said. “If the roof on your house needs to be replaced, you try to replace it now. If you don’t have the money to do that, when the roof actually leaks, it’s going to be a lot worse. It’s the same thing with University R&R projects, just add zeroes on the cost.”In the past 10 years, state funding for R&R projects gradually decreased until all allocated funding was completely eliminated starting in fall 2011.Following the cut, the Board of Trustees approved and implemented a temporary R&R student mandatory fee of $180 per Bloomington student, which is still in effect. Student mandatory fees include health, activity and technology fees that students pay each semester. As major projects such as restoration of historic buildings in the Old Crescent have become a priority on the Bloomington campus by IU President Michael McRobbie, Morrison said finding ways to fund these projects has been a major challenge.The Bloomington campus alone spends roughly $25 million per year on renovation and rehabilitation projects. Of the $700 million being deferred, Bloomington accounts for roughly $480 million. “The problem is we should be spending about twice that number on an annual basis,” Morrison said.The value of academic buildings in Bloomington is about $4 billion. Morrison said the University should be spending at the very least 1 percent of that total on R&R, which would equal $40 million per year.“We’ve figured out how to have a band-aid approach, but we’re not really healing the wound,” Morrison said. “What we want is when you go into a class, you’re not thinking about the building around you. How that happens is that we need to invest in these systems.”Still, he said, there is hope for renewed state funding. The current Indiana state budget for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 recently passed by the House of Representatives includes revived funding for R&R projects. But with the Senate still left to approve of the bill, the question of whether state funding will return is up in the air.“We hope there’s a good end to the story,” Morrison said. “There seems to be a renewed interest in protecting the value of the buildings. We’re grateful that the House of Representatives made that investment.”Whether students will still pay a mandatory fee for R&R, is not known. It will be determined this summer when the Board of Trustees approves the final budget.The specifics of where and when these deferred maintenance projects are completed is still unclear, Morrison said. The only inevitable factor is that major renovations — such as restoration of Franklin Hall, new labs in Swain Hall and a series of projects at Wells Library — need to be accomplished, eventually.“We’ve got to figure out how we can finance them overtime,” Morrison said. “It doesn’t exist today, but the good thing is if you can spend an appropriation every year, you’re chipping away at it. You’re flowing in the right direction.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As Sandra Fluke stood in front of students and faculty, she said she wanted to make one thing clear: the term “pro-choice” is outdated.“A choice is between a blue and a black blazer,” Fluke said in Whittenberger Auditorium Tuesday night. “This is more than a label. We’re not going to just stop saying pro-choice and start saying reproductive justice. We have to have a broader agenda than just abortion access.”Fluke, a current student at Georgetown University Law Center and reproductive and social rights advocate, spoke in a panel discussion sponsored by Union Board and Residence Hall Association.Her name also made major news headlines in February 2012 after she testified at an unofficial congressional hearing about reproductive health care, which resulted in criticism from multiple conservative blogs, including radio personality Rush Limbaugh.The radio host called Fluke a “slut” and “prostitute” on-air, which received national criticism that led to an official condemnation from House Speaker John Boehner. It also led to a personal invitation from President Barack Obama to speak at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.“I’m frequently asked, what kind of advocate am I?” Fluke said. “I say strategic, which my PR people tell me is more appropriate than deviant.”As two police officers stood to the sides of the stage, Fluke presented her concept of reproductive justice, which she believes should replace common labels such as “pro-life” and “pro-choice.”“My family is actually pretty conservative,” Fluke said. “For me, what reproductive justice offers is for me to talk to them and agree with them. We don’t agree on abortion, but we can agree on women having access to contraception. We can agree to have breast and testicular cancer screenings.”She emphasized the importance of expanding the discussion of reproductive health to several issues including sexual education, child-care rights, cancer screenings and civil and economic factors that affect decisions individuals make concerning sexual health.The lecture then opened into an open panel discussion including IU faculty and students from the Maurer School of Law, School of Public Health and Kinsey Institute.While no audience members publicly contested Fluke’s ideas, questions brought up everything from the lack of male presence in the sexual health industry to becoming politically active in the 21st century.“What scares me is people think participating in social media is going to make a difference and I’m worried that we’re not learning how to make a change,” said Demetri Morgan, panelist and graduate student in Higher Education and Student Affairs. “It’s easy to change your default Facebook picture, but are you standing up on a day to day basis for an issue? I worry social media has become a crutch for us instead of a tool for pushing our message forward.”Hands continued to raise as Union Board speaker and lectures director Paul Zuradzki wrapped up the discussion. “I think our generation is interested in being more interactive and more engaged in terms of getting our voices heard than tired old partisan media,” Zuradzki said. “We felt Fluke was really relevant in terms of her identity as a student and goal to get students more involved in public advocacy.”Despite serious subject matter, Fluke tried to keep the mood light.“Are we all on board that we hate the label pro-choice?” Fluke said to laughs in the audience. “I don’t really hate it, but I think there are problems.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A year ago, 21-year-old Lexi Prahl still had a plan. She even had a way to pay for it.“When I was little, my mom worked in the Navy,” Prahl said. “She passed away when I was young. Ever since then I’ve been getting money from the government that my dad has been saving to pay for college.”After taking classes through the IU Air Force ROTC program starting her sophomore year, she planned on attending basic training and eventually earning an officer position in the U.S. military, just like her mom. But when the Air Force informed her she was medically postponed and could not complete training, the Washington, D.C., native made a decision: stay an extra year in college to complete a degree and continue her dream, even as her savings passed down through her mother ran out.“It was a huge blow to realize that my life plan couldn’t be possible, but instead of being really sad about it, I knew I had to do something so I didn’t fall behind,” Prahl said.Approaching her senior year, she decided to pursue a management degree through the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, along with a minor in international studies. In order to complete her degree, she will be attending IU for a fifth year. Though the most updated statistics report a 58-percent on-time graduation rate for the IU-Bloomington campus for students seeking a four-year degree, IU administration is putting on-time graduation as a top priority. “We’ve got a responsibility to help provide students with the tools to graduate,” said Mark Land, vice president of IU communications. “If you stay another year, not only are you paying tuition, you’re paying for books, room and board and possibly adding debt.”IU President Michael McRobbie addressed on-time graduation rates in a recent University-wide email, stating “IU is committed to providing tools and incentives to our students that will help them earn their degree in four years or less and lower the cost of attending IU, and thereby reducing their overall debt load.”As McRobbie’s recommendation for tuition rates to the Board of Trustees approaches, the president highlighted initiatives implemented by the University to not only increase on-time graduation rates but also improve student financial literacy.First mentioned in the State of the Campus Address, McRobbie cited the new “Finish in Four” program to be implemented this fall. Through the program, juniors and seniors from all seven IU campuses will receive a financial award that offsets any increase in tuition that occurred during their last two years at IU.Because the program is still in its infancy, rising juniors with at least 60 completed credit hours and rising seniors with at least 90 hours will qualify for the award.“I wouldn’t have minded staying another year when I was here, but it can really be a burden financially on students,” said Land, an IU-Bloomington graduate. “We’re not a for-profit business. We don’t have interest in generating fees just to generate fees.”In order to catch up on credit hours, Prahl utilized the University’s new summer session tuition discount.“I felt like I needed to be productive, and since they were discounted, it was really helpful,” Prahl said. “It made sense to stay here and take the cheaper classes.”Since Prahl changed paths so late in her college career, she said she does not blame unnecessary credit requirements as a reason for her extra year in school.However, following demands from recently passed Indiana House Enrolled Act 1220, the University reduced credit requirements for all but a few baccalaureate and associate degrees.More than 90 percent of all bachelor’s degree programs at IU will meet the 120-credit requirement recommended by the state by next year.“This was no small undertaking,” Land said. “We have over 400 degree programs that we had to review and reduce in very quick order. The state legislature is really pushing Universities to push students through in four years as a way to control their costs.”By using the last of the savings collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs, along with liquidated stock earnings Prahl’s mom purchased before her death, she said she will still be able to pay out-of-state tuition. Despite incentives to graduate in four years and avoid student debt, she said that in the end, the most important thing is making it to the finish. “It can be hard,” Prahl said. “You have to make sacrifices, but I believe the most important thing is to finish college and get your degree. Any way you can do that, you should do it.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the past three weeks, Jacobs School of Music lecturer David Kazimir’s office in the music school has been replaced by a 10-ton, 2,838-pipe, solid black walnut organ.“It’s a great big tree house with pipes,” said Kazimir, who is also the IU curator of organs and carillons. “It’s an exquisite piece of art on its own, but the instrument as a whole is beautiful.”Officially named Opus 91, the organ is currently being installed in Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union. Kazimir, along with workers from the organ design and building company C.B. Fisk, has spent more than 60 hours per week assembling the giant instrument since March 2.“For the past four months of my life, I’ve been working on this organ,” Kazmir said. “It’s a great heritage of Western musical history, and it’s significant we have the chance to have it at the Union.”After acquiring the instrument with collaboration from the Jacobs School of Music, the IMU and the office of the president of IU, Kazimir and C.B Fisk disassembled the organ in February 2012 and then placed it in storage in Bloomington until Alumni Hall was prepared for its official installation.Though Kazimir did not release specific information regarding the cost of the organ, he did say a grant from an anonymous donor will help cover the installation costs.The organ’s installation in Alumni Hall is part of a larger renovation of the roughly 80-year-old IMU gathering space. Under construction since last fall, new floors and walls have been put in, along with a new sound and lighting system and modifications to the balcony where the organ is currently being built.Kazimir said general construction of the organ will be completed by the end of March in time for construction crews to put the final touches on Alumni Hall renovations. “Its an incredible instrument, and visually it’s stunning,” said Bruce Jacobs, executive director of the IMU and an overseer of the renovation. “It’s a piece of art within itself.”Opus 91 was purchased from the family of its original owner, Jacques Littlefield, who had the organ built for his private concert hall in Portola Valley, Calif., before he died. “When he died, we didn’t know what was going to happen to it,” said Greg Bover, C.B. Fisk project manager for the organ, who also worked on its original construction in 1987. “So to have it come here and be in the hands of this faculty and the students that will go through here over the next couple of generations, that’s pretty special.”Since the Jacobs School of Music has the largest organ department in the nation with 44 organ majors, three full-time staff and an organ curator, Kazimir said the organ will be utilized for teaching, practice, concerts and even weddings and ceremonies in the IMU.“It’s a very comprehensive instrument and a second concert organ for the students of the school of music to use,” Kazimir said. “Now it’s at the center of the campus.”Following the completion of Alumni Hall, Kazimir and his organ-building team will return to tune and adjust the organ to match with the acoustic environment.“The organ was originally finished for a much smaller space, but we want the sound to fill this room,” Kazimir said. “We’re going to take the time to listen to individual pipes. It’s like a choir rehearsal — one singer at a time.”While Alumni Hall is being updated with modern sound and lighting technology, Opus 91 is a glimpse into music history. Using a mechanical key and stop action system used in organs before the invention of electricity, air passing through the instrument’s pipes can fill an entire hall with sound — no speaker required.“The pipes range in size from that of a pencil to over 32 feet and produce sounds that span the breadth of human hearing,” Kazimir said. “It’s a subwoofer driven by air — a modern synthesizer.”Despite long hours among buzzing drills, steel pipes and dark wooden beams that skim the ceiling, Kazimir and the team said they are enjoying the long process leading to Cream and Crimson Weekend on June 6 and 7, when Alumni Hall will be dedicated. Kazimir said the moment the rush of air passes through the organ’s pipes is unforgettable.“It’s like a new baby taking its first breath,” he said. “It comes to life.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Since the Indiana Memorial Union was constructed in 1932, Alumni Hall has stood as a gathering place for student groups, a venue for concerts and films and even weddings and bar mitzvahs.Under construction since last fall, the hall is in the final stage of renovation and construction that will refurbish the original. Long-awaited technological improvements will also be made.“It has the look and feel of what it originally looked like, but with 21st century technology,” said Bruce Jacobs, executive director of the IMU. “It’s basically a total restoration of Alumni Hall.”New floors and walls will be put in, along with a new sound and lighting system, a refurbished ceiling and an organ provided by the Jacobs School of Music.The Solarium that adjoins with Alumni Hall will also receive new carpeting and other changes to make the two rooms’ designs more alike.“The target is for all the principal work to be finished by the end of this month,” Jacobs said. “The primary construction is done, so what we’re doing right now is installing the organ.”Jacobs said plans to refurbish Alumni Hall came from IU President Michael McRobbie about two years ago. Though the hall is located in and often utilized by the IMU, all funding for the project is coming from the University, not out of the direct pocket of the IMU.“McRobbie said he wanted to restore it to its original grandeur,” Jacobs said. “It was very important to him.”As sound and lighting technology has improved throughout the years, equipment such as speakers had to be added on a need-by-need basis. This often resulted in lower quality sound with wires and cords taped to the ground.With an updated sound system designed specifically for Alumni Hall, student groups such as Union Board said they now have an opportunity to bring in musical acts that could compete with other mid-sized venues such as The Bluebird Nightclub.Including the Solarium, Alumni Hall has occupancy of about 1,200.“I hear students say ‘I can’t wait till I’m 21 when I can see concerts at The Bluebird,’ but now we can bring in those kinds of bands for all ages to Alumni Hall,” said Erin Brown, director of external affairs for Union Board. “It has a state of the art sound system that’s going to be a great venue for mid-sized concerts.”Jacobs said he is confident general construction will be complete by its end-of-March deadline. The earliest events for Alumni Hall are planned for the end of April.With advanced technology, a refined look and a newly-installed organ, he said he feels the possibilities for utilizing one of the oldest rooms in the IMU are endless.“I could envision all kind of things,” Jacobs said. “It could be used for concerts, films, lectures, I could even see an organ concert — all kinds of possibilities. Space becomes limitless.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Nearly 24 years after the office of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences sought to transition into a newer, renovated building, the office finally moved from Kirkwood Hall to Owen Hall while students were away on spring break.Before the office of the dean began packing boxes March 8, Jean Robinson, executive associate dean and professor of political science, remembered an Indiana Daily Student article from 1989 that hung in an office, indicating more-than-100-year-old Kirkwood Hall would soon receive much-needed renovations .“The inside is not accessible, the bathrooms are about sixty years old and the farther you go up in the building, the worse it is,” Robinson, who oversaw the recent transition, said of Kirkwood Hall. “It’s an old building that’s lovely on the outside, but it needs to be renovated.”The College’s administrative offices have been closed since March 8 but will reopen at 9 a.m. Tuesday for students. Faculty and staff can go in on Monday.Robinson said construction crews have been working on renovating Owen Hall since the fall and will continue doing so after the College officially begins operating from Owen Hall.Owen Hall, constructed in 1884, was one of the first two buildings on the Bloomington campus. Prior to being renovated to house the College administration, it was home to the University chancellor’s office until it was closed in summer 2011.Owen Hall has undergone several infrastructural changes including new air-conditioning, heating, floors and an elevator to accommodate students and faculty with disabilities. Though the interior and infrastructure are experiencing several changes, exterior renovations such as new windows must first be approved by the state, since Owen Hall is an official historic location.“One of the best things will be the building will be accessible,” Robinson said. “We will no longer have a sign on the door that says ‘this building is not accessible.’”Seventy three administrative employees previously residing in Kirkwood Hall along with the Office of Advancement in the Von Lee building will move into Owen Hall by Tuesday.The College Information Technology office will remain in Kirkwood Hall temporarily and move to Weatherly Hall during the summer.“We were the first school in the University, so it’s neat that we’re in one of the oldest buildings on campus,” Robinson said.The transition is part of the IU-Bloomington campus master plan established in 2010, which in part seeks to update historic campus buildings including Kirkwood and Owen halls. Robinson said the College of Arts and Sciences will pay for the majority of the moving and renovation costs, along with some funding from the University.“We will have updated space and we will definitely have an improvement in terms of quality,” Robinson said. “It will be more accessible and modern. And I think it’s really important to us to stay in the center of the campus.”Kirkwood Hall will undergo renovations after this summer, and the tentative plan will be to house classrooms and possibly smaller to medium-sized department offices, Robinson said.“There will still be boxes and not everything will be done, like anytime you move into a new space, but everyone will be back at their desk on Monday,” Robinson said.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When ESPN College GameDay came to IU Feb. 2 for the Michigan men’s basketball game, each commercial break ended with a familiar song: “The Heist” by hip-hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.Now, the pair is headed to Assembly Hall for the official Little 500 concert April 17, presented by Union Board.“Assembly Hall is a place where people are used to celebrating and having a great time,” said Doug Booher, director of the IU Auditorium who helped Union Board organize the event. “We’re going to move it from a place where everyone loves to watch basketball to a place where everyone can enjoy a great concert.” Rapper and Seattle native Macklemore has gained recent popularity for his songs “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love,” written in collaboration with producer Ryan Lewis. Macklemore and Lewis recently performed on Saturday Night Live and are currently on tour promoting their debut album, “The Heist.”“We’ve been surveying for over a year now on the kind of music students want to see, and the overwhelming majority came back with hip-hop,” said Erin Brown, director of external affairs for Union Board. “We felt very strongly that we were answering those requests by bringing a top 40 pop and hip-hop crossover.”Two other hip-hop artists, 2013 Grammy nominee Wale and longtime underground rap artist Talib Kweli, will also perform.“In terms of bringing the hip-hop genre, we hit all corners with the three artists we decided on,” Brown said.After studying recent attendance numbers of Macklemore performances, Union Board and IU Auditorium directors determined that Assembly Hall, which seats about 15,000 for a concert venue, would be optimal not only to draw in high attendance numbers but to keep ticket prices low.“If an artist costs $100,000, and we only have 3,200 tickets to sell to make that money back, tickets are going to be very expensive,” said Asher Wittenberg, Union Board concerts director. “To put Macklemore in the auditorium would have been unfair to students, because prices would have had to be well over $100 just for us to make back our initial investment.”IU Auditorium, which seats 3,200, was the venue for last year’s Little 500 concert featuring Sublime with Rome. After receiving generally negative feedback from students, Wittenberg and Brown said they feel this year’s choice will be more appealing.“In terms of Sublime with Rome, we ran into a few issues with that,” Wittenberg said. “Their average draw across the country is 1,200 per show, and I think they might not have been the right fit for this campus.”Though Wittenberg is optimistic that Macklemore will draw in high ticket sales, he said the inability of the past Union Board to book an artist earlier in the year made finding a popular act so late in the year difficult. “Because Union Board directors switch in January, there’s a gap of getting to know your situation,” Wittenberg said. “It takes me a month to getting used to being an actual director, and that’s a month that could be used to plan a show. Not to say that the past concerts director did a bad job, but this is how it’s gone in the past. I want to change that.”Since spring is a common time of year for musicians to tour overseas, Union Board’s options of available artists were limited.“Our top five weren’t in the United States, so we had to go back to the drawing board several times, which is why the announcement came so late,” Brown said. “We were lucky to find an artist as popular as Mack at the last minute.”While Union Board is working with less funding than past years and still living under the shadow of the highly popular Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj Little 500 concert from 2011, Brown and Wittenberg hope this year’s lineup represents a successful, yet realistic, booking.“If we want to bring in someone like Kanye West, and it’s coming out of our budget, students are going to pay at least $100 for a ticket,” Wittenberg said. “If they don’t want to pay that much, they have to understand we’re doing all we can to make it affordable.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Signs covering campus bus stops and bulletins reading “FLEX” and “SOAK” are designed to garner attention for Tuesday’s Residence Hall Association election.SOAK represents that ticket’s commitment to “soak up the concerns and desires of our constituents,” and FLEX is an acronym Future IU, Leadership, Empowerment and Experience. Students who live in all 12 IU residence halls will have the opportunity to vote for one of two tickets in their respective buildings from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The specific locations for voting will vary based on the building, but election commission officials said they will most likely be located near center desks and main lobbies.The ballot will consist of two tickets of students running for executive positions including president, vice president of internal affairs, vice president of programming and vice president of student affairs.Voters may also select Haylee Clark, who is running for vice president for student affairs on an independent ticket.RHA Election Commissioner Allyson Gergely said voter turnout has been low in past elections, estimating that roughly 10 percent of residence hall residents participate. “Even though most people aren’t living in the dorms next year, you’re making a decision for the people living next year and making a responsible decision for your campus,” Gergely said.RHA is a student-run organization that acts as a liaison between Residential Programs and Services administrators and students living in residence halls. By offering free campus-wide programs and events — everything from “Nutella Fest” to the spring Energy Challenge — RHA members said they hope to give students a sense of community in the dorms.“In my opinion, RHA serves as an immediate connection between residents and administrators,” junior Claire Houterman, presidential candidate for the FLEX ticket and current RHA chief of staff , said. “We really have the opportunity to share and grow from that relationship.”Along with working with student governments of each residence hall, RHA divides into several sub-committees that help improve various aspects of residence hall living such as transportation, living-learning centers and general dorm rates and budgets.Still, compared to organizations such as Union Board and IU Student Administration, RHA representatives said they feel their organization does not have a strong presence among students.“Most people I talk to do not know what RHA is, and I feel like that’s a huge problem,” Kala Majors, sophomore and presidential candidate for the SOAK ticket, said. “We as RHA students work so hard to try to do what we’re supposed to do, but it’s not always translating in serving and representing students.”Representatives from both tickets have presented to the residence hall student governments and sponsored a town-hall meeting Feb. 28 at the Hoosier Den, where students could ask questions to members on both tickets.Each group emphasized the number one goal for RHA is increasing student awareness and attendance at events and programming.“We serve a lot of the campus who are in this bubble,” Majors said. “A lot of people do have bad experiences in the residence halls because they don’t feel like they’re at home. And the RHA is a part of what makes students feel at home.”Majors, of the SOAK ticket, said they plan to implement a new position, director of campus outreach, to increase RHA awareness.He is the current president of Forest Quad student government.Houterman’s FLEX ticket said their past experience in residence hall government — all four candidates are current juniors — will help improve student awareness among currently existing committees and directors.RHA encourages students to contact their dorm’s center desk or residence assistant regarding details of the voting process.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students will receive an inside glance at the Hollywood film industry Friday with Drew Simon, director of development at a Hollywood production company. Simon will speak about the film and entertainment industry 7 p.m. today in the Indiana Memorial Union Walnut Room.The 2007 IU alumnus currently develops film concepts for the Mark Gordon Company, a Los Angeles based production company that helped produce films such as “We Bought a Zoo,” “10,000 B.C.” and “Source Code.”“I think it’s going be a very informative and great event for anyone who wants to work in the film industry,” said Brad Domash, senior and Business Careers in Entertainment Club member.Simon will speak about his experiences helping develop and discover film ideas and concepts, as well as answer general questions about working in the entertainment and film industry. “I really like that we’re able to bring in an event for the club,” Chelsea Connors, co-director of the BCEC film and television committee in charge of organizing the event, said. “We do a lot of events like resume workshops, so it’s really an accomplishment when we can get someone like him.”Domash interned in the same office as Simon at the Mark Gordon Company last summer and jumped at the opportunity to get involved when he heard Simon was coming to speak at IU.“Obviously once I saw he was coming, I knew I had to get involved,” Domash said.Domash and Connors both gave credit to the strong alumni network ties between entertainment industry professionals who graduated from IU that make events like this possible. There is even a Hollywood Hoosiers Alumni association that acts as a resource for IU graduates in the industry.During his internship at Mark Gordon Company, Domash said he worked alongside several IU alumni.“The minute I got there I could tell that me being a Hoosier made me stand out a little,” Domash said. “People were really receptive of me based on the fact that I went to IU.”Simon will also answer questions about finding internships and jobs in the industry, an aspect Connors said is especially significant to students such as herself who are looking for a career in film and entertainment.“I don’t just want a job, I want a career,” Connors said. “When I see people speak that are doing that, you can take all these different bits of advice from them and take on their direction. It’s really inspirational.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When associate professor of informatics Johan Bollen began research on predicting trends in economic markets using Twitter in 2010, he was driven by curiosity and a passion for learning.Since publishing his work with co-author and graduate student Huina Mao, their research has received an official United States patent and led to the creation of a new technology startup company, Guidewave Consulting.“As soon as we published the paper and had it submitted for a patent, we got a lot of interest from a variety of potential licensees, hedge funds, banks, you name it,” Bollen said. “But we didn’t have a vehicle to leverage that opportunity.”Instead of selling the technology to the University, Bollen wanted a direct say in how his mood-tracking system would be marketed to investors. With the help of IU Research and Technology Corporation — a current shareholder and investor in Guidewave — a percentage of Guidewave revenue is collected by the University, allowing both Bollen and his employer to benefit from IU-sponsored research.“It’s everyone making sure that if this thing really takes off, that IU and the state of Indiana can profit from it as well,” Bollen said.When Bollen and Mao published “Predicting Economic Trends via Network Communication Mood Tracking” in 2010, media affiliates such as CNBC quickly picked up on the data-analysis technology, deeming it the “Twitter Predictor.” The series of algorithms designed by Bollen and Mao categorize Twitter updates from millions of users into different “moods” such as tension, depression, fatigue and vigor and then uses changes in these moods to compare them with trends in economic markets such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average.“A lot of people think these social media environments are just kids posting crazy stuff,” Bollen said. “But it could have tremendous value in predicting social and economic trends. There’s a little bit of disdain for these social media at times, and to some degree it’s justified. But the scale is enormous.” While the correlation between mood on Twitter and short-term economic trends is still widely debated, Bollen said Guidewave Consulting has been in contact with a variety of interested hedge fund investors and marketing researchers since the company’s founding in June 2011. Bollen even noted that undisclosed customers have purchased their research data and used it in market analysis.“The nice thing about this is you don’t need a huge team to do this type of analysis,” Bollen said. “The computers do most of the work. It’s all about having smart algorithms and applying them intelligently to a rather difficult problem.”Guidewave currently operates with three employees: Bollen, Mao and graduate student Damien Junk. All three, even Bollen as founder and CEO, are by no means full-time employees. Each continues to research full-time at IU.“I think I’ve aged badly over the last two years,” Bollen said. “But IU is a pretty receptive environment to these kinds of things. It’s been very rewarding.”Though Bollen said Guidewave is still in a developmental stage, one or two significant customers could jump-start revenue.“This is the kind of business where a few contracts can make a big difference,” Bollen said. “We’re not looking to take this into the retail space. We’re gearing this toward pretty big investors, like really large hedge funds. You can go from revenue-neutral to very high revenues in a very short amount of time.”With a recently patented invention and a small team of dedicated employees, Bollen said he is optimistic about the future of Guidewave but emphasizes he is a professor before an entrepreneur. “We’ve got a startup, and it’s real, but it’s not like we’re hiring 150 people,” Bollen said. As much as he enjoys developing a new company, he said his true passion still lies in the excitement of academic research and discovery.“It’s fun to take a piece of research and turn it into something that works in real life,” Bollen said. “Curiosity and fun are really powerful motivators for me. As long as it’s fun, I think it’s valuable.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Amidst funding cuts within Union Board, a new team of directors and pressure to keep ticket prices low, Union Board concerts director Asher Wittenberg is working to finalize one of the biggest campus events of the year. After sending an offer to an undisclosed musical act Feb. 15, Wittenberg is currently awaiting a response that could book the performer for the official Little 500 concert.“Now we just wait for a response,” Wittenberg said. “Usually, you hear back within two weeks, and I expect it to be about a week.”Wittenberg said Union Board is willing to make a counter offer if the act does not accept the current price and that other acts are still in close contact if the current offer falls through.Regardless, Union Board plans to announce the official lineup March 1.After receiving decreased funding allocated from student mandatory fees, this year’s Union Board has emphasized fiscal responsibility, especially when it comes to events that could potentially lose money. Despite the Little 500 concert being a staple of the organization, Wittenberg has had to approach the concert’s planning from a new perspective.“They are scrutinizing every single proposal that comes through, including this concert proposal,” said Rob Meyer, assistant director for Indiana Memorial Union activities and events. “They’re making sure that they will not be in a deficit, instead of the model of past Union Boards where they said ‘Well, we always break even,’ and then they lose a lot of money.”Though the exact time Union Board books a performer varies, Meyer said this year’s board held off making any offers before attending a booking agency conference to see what options were on the table.“It’s been a tough thing,” Wittenberg said. “We can’t spend $1 million on a Lil Wayne concert. Regardless of how we spend, it comes down to making the most face. It comes down to booking talent that you feel comfortable with risk-wise.”Excluding the Lil Wayne year, which Wittenberg sees as a “once-in-a-decade kind of show,” he said the Union Board does not have lowered expectations for this year’s performer or overall show. In fact, they plan to lower ticket prices to the $20-40 range, in contrast with past shows, such as the Lil Wayne concert, where the cheapest tickets sold for $60.“The artist is really hot right now,” Wittenberg said. “As soon as we get confirmation, we’re looking for a second or third. We’re trying to keep it much more affordable.”To avoid losing money on the concert, Union Board is planning their budget around lower ticket sales to avoid overestimating the amount of revenue and ending up in debt.Instead of cutting funds for the Little 500 concert, Wittenberg said the Union Board concerts committee has sacrificed other lectures, comedy acts and concerts to avoid spending more than the budget.“There have been many programs we’ve done in the past that we can’t do this year,” Wittenberg said. “I’d like to have done a couple shows by now, but we decided that the Little 500 concert is synonymous with Union Board, and not providing one would be a disservice to students. It’s one of those things that’s expected of us.”