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(11/16/06 5:55pm)
Student smokers might soon have to leave campus to get their nicotine fix. In response to a proposal submitted by the Students' Smokefree Coalition, IU President Adam Herbert has assigned a task force to look into the possibility of making IU-Bloomington smoke-free, according to a letter sent to the coalition.\nDan Rives, associate vice president of University Human Resource Services, and Richard McKaig, dean of students, will put together the task force composed of representatives of student government, residence halls, faculty and employee groups, McKaig said.\nMcKaig and Rives headed the task force when the smoking policy was last changed in 2002, prohibiting smoking within 30 feet of campus buildings. The option of going completely smoke-free was discussed then but rejected.\n"As I recall, at the time there was a consensus to move forward but not to move forward to that level," he said. "Now we've had another three or four years and public opinion has broadened, so it could be time to take the next step."\nIn September, the newly founded Students' Smokefree Coalition submitted a nine-page proposal encouraging the administration to ban smoking on campus. \n"We are encouraged that the administration is taking this seriously and intends to take action on it in the next semester," said Donnie Morgan, president and founder of the Students' Smokefree Coalition.\nMcKaig and Rives will meet sometime after Thanksgiving to appoint other members of the task force, which will meet several times before making a \nrecommendation sometime during the spring semester. If Herbert decides to ban smoking on campus, he would likely do so starting either the summer or fall semester 2007, McKaig said.\nIU-Purdue University Indianapolis and IU-Southeast have already banned smoking on campus, Morgan said. Other universities across the country have also enacted similar bans.\n"This is going to happen eventually, so there is no reason for us to be left behind," Morgan said. \nThe coalition started off as the Facebook group "PLEASE ban smoking on IU's campus," but Bryce Wininger, vice president of the coalition, said the overwhelming response to the group -- now 1,200 members strong -- encouraged him and Morgan to try to do something about it.\n"We realized we could do something about it if we talked to the right people and took the right steps," Wininger said.\nWininger said he believes the administration and trustees overwhelmingly support the ban. He expects complaints from students but believes it will be worth it, he said.\nFreshman Tyler DeLong, who quit smoking three weeks ago at the request of close friends, still sees a ban on smoking as a violation of smokers' rights, he said. In response, he organized a formal protest of the proposed ban, called "Light Up for Freedom." Smokers were encouraged to meet at the Sample Gates at noon Sept. 29 to smoke and raise awareness, though only about 15 people showed up, he said.\nDeLong suggests the group focus more on enforcing current smoking standards, he said.\n"I think the complaint about secondhand smoke when you are 30 feet away is kind of stupid," DeLong said. "I think that if the current policy was actually enforced, these people would be much happier."\nStill, Wininger said students don't respect the 30-foot boundary. Groups of students can commonly be seen in doorways near the buildings where students walk, and cigarette butts can be found all over campus, he said.\n"If we are going to be this campus that is going to push life sciences and health sciences, then it doesn't make much sense for that kind of an unhealthy habit to be so pervasive on campus," Wininger said.\nSophomore Alex Wukmer, a smoker of three years, said he smokes on campus every day and would continue to do so regardless of the ban.\n"People have this thing about civil rights, where they are going to do what they like to do," Wukmer said. "IU doesn't have a right to tell me what I can and cannot do. If IU wants to write me a ticket for smoking outside in the open air, I would call that an injustice, plain as day."\nStudents' Smokefree Coalition is trying to provide a healthy atmosphere for everyone, Morgan said. Numerous studies, which were included in the proposal submitted to the administration, have shown that outdoor cigarette smoke can be detrimental to health, he said.\n"If we should go tobacco-free, we're not trying to ban people from doing something, it isn't our intention to take something away," Morgan said. "We don't want to ban them from smoking, we want to provide a tobacco-free environment for everyone"
(11/06/06 12:02pm)
Five-year-old Daniel Abbott was born with an immune disorder and now experiences seizures.\nBut from the way the small, brown-haired boy raced around Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning at the Wildermuth Gym in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation during the 16th annual IU Dance Marathon, it was hard to tell. \n"We got here and he hit the ground running," said Shelley Abbott, Daniel's mother. "When everyone stopped dancing for the movie, he was running around and throwing up his hands like, 'What's going on? Let's dance!'"\nAnd he certainly had reason to celebrate. IUDM, which went from 8 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Sunday, shattered last year's fundraising record by more than $240,000. The event raised $920,386.20 for the Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Disease at Riley Hospital for Children, which treats more than 200 children a month, including Daniel Abbott.\n"Unbelievable," IUDM President Josh Wendahl said. "That's just all I can say. Unbelievable. This just proved that if you have your mind set on it, absolutely anything is possible."\nDancers and volunteers who had not slept in two days hugged, laughed and cried as the total was announced, bringing the 36-hour event to a close.\n"It was just fantastic," freshman Andrew Levine said. "It is hard to comprehend that the number of people we had could raise so much money, but it is just fantastic." \nMartin Kleinman, Daniel Abbott's doctor and the director of the Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Disease, accepted the check on behalf of Riley. \n"There is so much sadness in the world, and so many things that are wrong," Kleinman said, addressing the participants. "But you are what's right in the world." \nThe check for almost $1 million represented a year's worth of fundraising efforts, which continued until the eleventh hour. Members of Kappa Kappa Gamma went "canning" late Saturday night at Kilroy's Sports Bar to raise more money for the cause, said senior Claire Seyfried, Kappa Kappa Gamma's IUDM representative. The group garnered another $300 in the process. \n"It is a great way to remember and honor our sister Ashley (Crouse, a Kappa Kappa Gamma who was killed in April 2005)," Seyfried said. "And getting to see the Riley kids and where the money is going is just amazing." \nTo keep themselves awake, participants danced and played board games, basketball, four-square and cornhole. Levine, a Sigma Alpha Mu pledge, played "water pong" but said he didn't think staying awake would be a problem. \n"There are worse things than staying up for 36 hours to raise money for these kids," Levine said at 2 a.m. Saturday.\nBy 7 p.m. Saturday, having not slept since 9 a.m. Friday morning, Levine was tired but still chipper. \n"It is easier tonight than last night because you got to see that everything is worth it," Levine said. "We listened to the families talk and that makes you really appreciate the whole thing more." \nActivities also included arts and crafts, games and, a favorite of many children, an inflatable jumping pen. A talent show featured several Riley kids, including 7-year-old Karissa Smith, who sang "Yours and Mine" in a duet with her grandmother, a performance that moved several audience members to tears. \nSmith was born with a cleft lip and palate, her mother Jennifer Smith said. Since birth, she has undergone eight surgeries to repair it, with many more to come in the future. Still, her mother says the hospital is something Karissa loves. \n"She never associates Riley's with pain," Jennifer Smith said. "She is constantly showered with individual attention. That is one thing that Riley does that no one else does."\nThe event also came as a welcome respite for some parents, including Jenni Vise, who said the event was like "having a thousand babysitters."\nHer son Alex was born with a diaphragmatic hernia, which meant he had a hole in his diaphragm that allowed his intestines and spleen to move into his chest cavity, his father Gary Vise said. Riley was the only hospital in Indiana that could deal with the problem. \n"As a parent having almost lost a child, I know this event is going to help other children," Jenni Vise said. "And I am just grateful for that." \nNow, Alex is a happy 12-year-old. He has been coming to Dance Marathon for the past nine years, and, thanks to Riley, his future is bright, Gary Vise said. \nIU hosted its first Dance Marathon in 1991 after incoming freshman Ryan White, who contracted HIV while being treated for hemophilia, died from complications with AIDS. White had been planning to start at IU in the fall, so his close friend Jill Stewart started the event in his honor. \nRiley families and White's mother, Jeanne White, spoke throughout the day Saturday while the Riley kids and their friends and siblings ran around and played with dancers.\n"It is just unbelievable what the students do, all the time and enthusiasm they put in," Shelley Abbott said. "And it is not only the money. They play with the kids and treat them like kings."\nJane Marie Lind has seen the event through since its inception in 1991, she said. Her two sons, who graduated from IU in 1994 and 1999, were both involved in the event from the beginning, she said. She has attended every dance marathon, even after her sons graduated. \n"The first year they raised about $10,000, and I thought 'Wow,'" Lind said. "Then last year they raised $600,000, and I was just blown away."\nBut IUDM members aren't taking a break to celebrate the record amount of fundraising. By next week, the group will already begin recruiting the executive board that will plan next year's IUDM, Wendahl said. By winter, the group will already be fundraising again, he said. \nAs for Wendahl, the fifth-year senior said he will concentrate on bringing his grades up again since "dance marathon has definitely been my highest priority." \nSleep, apparently, would not even make it in the top 10 on Wendahl's priority list. After getting about three hours of sleep per night all last week, Wendahl said at 8:30 Sunday morning that he had been awake since 7 a.m. Friday. But, the adrenaline of the event was still pumping, he said. \n"My back is sore and I am kind of achy, but emotionally and psychologically it's like I just woke up," Wendahl said. "I could do it all over again -- just give me a new body"
(11/03/06 11:47am)
Chalupa does not like pesticides. Neither does her owner, graduate student David Schwab.\n"Pesticides aren't good for anyone, but they are really bad for dogs," Schwab said.\nAll dogs are more susceptible to pesticides than humans by virtue of being closer to the ground, Schwab said. This is especially a problem for Chalupa, a two-pound teacup chihuahua who once got lost in the grass because it had not been recently mowed.\nSo Thursday afternoon, the pair took a stand on their combined six legs to help raise awareness for the problem as part of the newly founded IU Green Campus' "Pups Against Pesticides" event. About 10 members of the group and five of their canine friends gathered at the Sample Gates to recruit more members for the group. \n"It was a good way to begin the discussion about pesticides," founder and political science graduate student Sarah Combellick-Bidney said. \n"It got people's attention, especially with Chalupa's cuteness factor being through the roof."\nIU Green Campus was born after some students became concerned that a mutual acquaintance's health had been negatively affected by the use of pesticides at IU, Combellick-Bidney said. \n"When you go through the campus it smells so bad after they spray the pesticides," Betsy Caulfield said, clutching a stuffed dog of her granddaughter's. "It can't be good for anyone, not to mention little animals and small children running around."\nResearchers have found pesticide use can cause bladder cancer and lymphoma in dogs, Combellick-Bidney said. Though all the individual pesticides used today are safe, she said combinations of pesticides are not tested for safety.\n"Friends and people we know have said they feel sick after they (people) spray the pesticides," Combellick-Bidney said. "And we suspect there could be worse effects."\nIU uses the smallest amounts of pesticides and herbicides possible, said Mike Schrader, assistant manager of IU's Physical Plant. They also use the least toxic products possible and those with the least odor, Schrader said.\nMixing of different products is rare, Schrader said. Even when they are mixed occasionally, he does not think it would cause a problem.\n"I've never heard of any problems occurring from mixing pesticides," Schrader said. "And all the chemicals are regulated through the Indiana State Chemists, so if there were a potential side effect of mixing, there would be a warning."\nAlternative methods of pest control could greatly reduce the amount of pesticides used on campus, said Marc Lame, an entomologist and a clinical professor of environmental management in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.\nIntegrated pest management, or IPM, is a system of controlling the insect populations without resorting to scheduled, blanket spraying of pesticides, said Lame, who has worked with other schools and the Environmental Protection Agency on IPM practices. IPM deals with insects by not attracting them in the first place and managing effected areas once a problem has been spotted.\n"IPM is not anti-pesticide," Lame said. "It is anti-unnecessary-use of pesticides."\nSchrader said his department has been using IPM techniques for years. For example, the department would plant vegetation that is naturally resistant to disease to lessen the amount of pesticides that had to be used, he said.\nStill, Schrader's is not the only department to use pesticides, Combellick-Bidney said. She said that with several other departments using pesticides, there is the potential for overlap. IU Green Campus would like to see a complete audit taken of all the products used on campus, as well as when, where and why they are used.\nSchrader said different departments are responsible for pest management in different areas of campus, such as the residence halls, academic buildings and athletic department. All products used are licensed by the state, he said.\nIU Green Campus would like to see the use of chemicals restricted to only those that are necessary, Combellick-Bidney said.\n"We want to work with the administration," Combellick-Bidney said. "We're not really working against the school. We want to have nice lawns; we just don't think that the kinds of chemicals are all necessary to have a beautiful campus"
(11/03/06 11:47am)
As a semi-professional bicyclist and a former Little 500 rider, Charlie Crouse is used to fighting off other bicyclists. \nOn Friday morning, though, the other bikers will be his companions, not the competition. \nCrouse will lead about 50 other bikers who will join him in the Dance Marathon's first "Torch Relay," held to honor the memory of his sister, Ashley Crouse, who was killed in a car crash in April 2005. He will carry a torch that will ultimately be placed at Dance Marathon to remind dancers of Ashley Crouse's dedication to the event and to the children at Riley Hospital for Children, according to a press release issued by IUDM. \n"It was her passion down here in Bloomington," Charlie Crouse said. "Number one, she was a philanthropist. She was passionate about it because she could help so many people." \nThe idea of holding a torch relay first surfaced two years ago, IUDM president Josh Wendahl said. \n"She loved the idea," Wendahl said. "She kept telling the guys, 'get on it, make it happen.'" \nBut the relay did not happen that year. \n"After Ashley died, that kind of jump-started the idea again," Wendahl said. "But last year the timing wasn't right for us to plan it." \nNow, two years later, the idea that Ashley Crouse loved will finally happen. Instead of watching it, she will be remembered by it, Wendahl said. \nCharlie Crouse hopes the relay will encourage even more people to get involved in the event. \n"The success of Marathon is driven by the number of people in it, and this brought another aspect to it," he said.\nMembers of different Little 500 teams, including independent Bella Veloce and the IU Cycling Club, will join Charlie Crouse and the Kappa Kappa Gamma bikers for the ride, a 60-mile journey that is expected to take about four hours, Wendahl said. \nBikers will leave Indianapolis at 9:30 a.m. Friday and will have a police escort at least until they reach the outskirts of Indianapolis, Wendahl said. \nThe ride will end at Wildermuth \nGymnasium in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation for the opening ceremonies of the 16th annual Dance Marathon, which will run from 8 p.m. Friday until 8 a.m. Sunday. To raise money for the Riley Hospital for Children, 1,056 dancers plan to stay on their feet the entire 36 hours. \nAshley Crouse was the vice-president of Dance Marathon in 2005, Wendahl said, and she was extremely dedicated and enthusiastic about the cause. \n"I remember one of my first impressions of her was how dedicated she was to it and how much energy she always had for it," said junior Anna Gardner, a member of Crouse's sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma. \nGardner and the four other members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Little 500 team will ride in the relay to "keep her spirit alive," she said.
(11/02/06 6:11am)
If some people on campus look more tired than usual Monday morning, give them a break. Thirty-six hours of dancing can do that to you. \nA record 1,056 students -- up from about 600 last year -- have registered to dance for the 16th annual IU Dance Marathon, the most lucrative fund-raising event on campus, said Meredith Main, IUDM public relations director. Participants will stay on their feet from 8 p.m. Friday until 8 a.m. Sunday to raise money for the Riley Hospital for Children.\n"We're helping people realize we're standing because we can, while children at Riley may not be able to do what we can do," Main said. "Our motto this year is, 'We dance because we can, we stand for those who can't.'"\nOf those 1,056 students, 379 are freshmen, up significantly from past years, Main said. She attributes these increased numbers to IUDM's campaign to involve organizations outside of the greek community, including residence halls. \n"It is great that we have so many freshmen because they'll be able to stay involved over the next four years," Main said. \nIUDM culminates a year of fund-raising through greek events, canning and a letter-writing campaign, Main said. And the $25-per-person registration fee, plus a minimum $350 each dancer is require to raise for the cause, means the event itself will draw a hefty sum. \nLast year, the event raised $677,415.19, and IUDM hopes to beat that total this year. Still, it is not just about the money, IUDM President Josh Wendahl said. \n"The bottom line is that we are helping children," Wendahl said. "Whether we raise $500 or $5 million, that money is going to help somebody to some extent. Our goal is to raise as much money as possible and help the most people." \nThis year the event will open Friday morning with a "torch ceremony" commemorating IU student Ashley Crouse, the 2005 IUDM vice president, who was killed in a car accident in April 2005. Led by Crouse's older brother Charlie Crouse, 50 bikers will ride from Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis to the Wildermuth Gymnasium in Bloomington, a 60-mile journey that is expected to take about four hours, IUDM President Josh Wendahl said. \nThe torch will be placed at the marathon to serve as a constant reminder of Ashley Crouse's legacy and dedication to IUDM and the children at Riley, according to an IUDM press release.\nThe torch race is expected to be completed by about 1 p.m., and the opening ceremonies will follow soon after. And at 8 p.m. sharp, participants will begin dancing and will not let up until one day and two nights later. Riley patients and their families will speak throughout the event, and dancers will play with Riley children throughout the day, Main said. \n"I'm not going to sit here and tell you it's easy," Wendahl said. "But once you see all the Riley families and all the kids who are just lucky to be alive, it makes it a lot easier." \nOther speakers will include IU President Adam Herbert, IU Dean of Students Richard McKaig and IU Chancellor Ken Gros Louis, according to the press release. \nIUDM began in 1991 when then-IU student Jill Stewart wanted to create a fund-raiser to honor close friend and Riley patient Ryan White, who died from complications from AIDS right before he was supposed to start at IU, according to the press release. Now, 16 years later, the event has raised more than $4 million for the hospital, said Katie Mayes, a communications specialist for Riley Children's Foundation. \nThose funds have allowed Riley Hospital for Children to open and maintain the Ryan White Infectious Disease Center, Indiana's only HIV/AIDS pediatric resource, Mayes said. \n"Without Dance Marathon, we could not have opened (the Center)," Mayes said.
(11/02/06 5:00am)
Submachine gun in hand, Hamstar walks slowly so the terrorists will not hear his footsteps. Suddenly, he launches a flash grenade into an enemy hideout. His foes blinded, Hamstar rushes in to disarm a terrorist bomb. \nMission accomplished. \nHamstar will advance to the next level in the computer game "Counter-Strike: Source." But come Saturday, Hamstar and his real-world alter ego, sophomore Chris Roberts, will emerge from their respective lairs to face new competition.\nRoberts is the vice president of the IU Gaming Club, which will host its 11th biannual LANWar. About 160 computer game enthusiasts will pack up their processors and bring them to crowd into a Briscoe dining hall. There they will vie for expensive prizes — including five high-powered graphics cards worth hundreds of dollars — and the glory of a tournament victory.\nDifferent tournaments will take place throughout the marathon event, which will last from noon Saturday until 4 p.m. Sunday. \n"It is pretty hectic with people walking around, checking out what new games there are," graduate student Evan Schwamb -- a.k.a. "shred." -- says.\nIn "Counter-Strike: Source," which will be a tournament competition, up to 64 people may play at a time, though Roberts does not expect so many to play at once. Those not competing in tournaments may play casual games with others or just hang around and socialize, he says.\nAttendees range from the hard core gamers to the much less serious, Roberts says. And some competitors are more intense than others. \n"You'll hear people yelling and screaming and cussing across the room," recent graduate Evan Julian says. \nOf course, snack food enthusiasts might also find a place at the event. Sarazan brought home the silver in the last Twinkie-eating contest, a LANWar tradition.\n"I amazed even myself," Sarazan says, boasting that he finished about a dozen. "I was proud. Pretty sick, but proud." \nAside from the sugar-high tradition, nicknames are also a must. Gamers choose a moniker for themselves, which they go by for the entire 29-hour event.\n"Mine is Locdonan, but everybody just calls me Loc," Julian says. "It's always just been that way as long as I can remember."\nExcept for those who know each other outside of gaming — such as groups (or "clans") of friends that come to compete — gamers generally do not bother with their real names, sophomore Matt "Chambz" Chambers says.\n"Sometimes people who know each other will use them interchangeably, but at the LANWar, you usually go by gaming names," he says. "They'll have a name tag with just their gaming name." \nBut people in the club do see each other in the real world, Chambers says, especially many of the officers, who hang out for activities that are not related to gaming. Last weekend they attended the "Rocky Horror Picture Show."\nExperience levels of competitors vary. For some games, constant practice is necessary to improve your skills, Roberts says. \n"I don't consider myself to be particularly hard core," Roberts says. "I don't have the time or patience to put into the endeavor."\nOthers, on the other hand, do. \n"I play a lot more than I should," says Brad McMullen, who may attend his first LANWar party this weekend. \nThat translates into about six hours a day, McMullen says. He says that he is not the best player but is continually trying to improve. \n"I like it because I can be with friends online, and I go through missions and become a better player," he says. "I have friends (who) play sometimes, but since it is a massive multi-player game, then I can meet and play with people."\nGamers do not need to have quite as much experience to come play in a tournament, however, Roberts says. \n"Not everyone has to be really competitive," he says. "We encourage people to come out for casual gaming and social interactions." \nAnd social interaction is the name of the game for the LANWars, Sarazan says. Back in the day, people had to physically hook up their computers to play against each other. But now that modern technology allows students to play against others through the Internet any time no matter where they are, the parties are more about getting together and having fun. \n"For the most part, it can be considered more of a gathering than a competition," Sarazan says. "As somebody that's never done well in tournaments, the best part is getting to socialize and meet other gamers to get to know them." \nAnd it probably doesn't hurt to quash a misconception in the meantime.\n"There is a kind of stereotype of gamers not being the most social of creatures," he says. "But LANWars bring a lot of people together to have a good time, and focuses on the party aspect of it"
(11/02/06 4:14am)
Submachine gun in hand, Hamstar walks slowly so the terrorists will not hear his footsteps. Suddenly, he launches a flash grenade into an enemy hideout. His foes blinded, Hamstar rushes in to disarm a terrorist bomb. \nMission accomplished. \nHamstar will advance to the next level in the computer game "Counter-Strike: Source." But come Saturday, Hamstar and his real-world alter ego, sophomore Chris Roberts, will emerge from their respective lairs to face new competition.\nRoberts is the vice president of the IU Gaming Club, which will host its 11th biannual LANWar. About 160 computer game enthusiasts will pack up their processors and bring them to crowd into a Briscoe dining hall. There they will vie for expensive prizes — including five high-powered graphics cards worth hundreds of dollars — and the glory of a tournament victory.\nDifferent tournaments will take place throughout the marathon event, which will last from noon Saturday until 4 p.m. Sunday. \n"It is pretty hectic with people walking around, checking out what new games there are," graduate student Evan Schwamb -- a.k.a. "shred." -- says.\nIn "Counter-Strike: Source," which will be a tournament competition, up to 64 people may play at a time, though Roberts does not expect so many to play at once. Those not competing in tournaments may play casual games with others or just hang around and socialize, he says.\nAttendees range from the hard core gamers to the much less serious, Roberts says. And some competitors are more intense than others. \n"You'll hear people yelling and screaming and cussing across the room," recent graduate Evan Julian says. \nOf course, snack food enthusiasts might also find a place at the event. Sarazan brought home the silver in the last Twinkie-eating contest, a LANWar tradition.\n"I amazed even myself," Sarazan says, boasting that he finished about a dozen. "I was proud. Pretty sick, but proud." \nAside from the sugar-high tradition, nicknames are also a must. Gamers choose a moniker for themselves, which they go by for the entire 29-hour event.\n"Mine is Locdonan, but everybody just calls me Loc," Julian says. "It's always just been that way as long as I can remember."\nExcept for those who know each other outside of gaming — such as groups (or "clans") of friends that come to compete — gamers generally do not bother with their real names, sophomore Matt "Chambz" Chambers says.\n"Sometimes people who know each other will use them interchangeably, but at the LANWar, you usually go by gaming names," he says. "They'll have a name tag with just their gaming name." \nBut people in the club do see each other in the real world, Chambers says, especially many of the officers, who hang out for activities that are not related to gaming. Last weekend they attended the "Rocky Horror Picture Show."\nExperience levels of competitors vary. For some games, constant practice is necessary to improve your skills, Roberts says. \n"I don't consider myself to be particularly hard core," Roberts says. "I don't have the time or patience to put into the endeavor."\nOthers, on the other hand, do. \n"I play a lot more than I should," says Brad McMullen, who may attend his first LANWar party this weekend. \nThat translates into about six hours a day, McMullen says. He says that he is not the best player but is continually trying to improve. \n"I like it because I can be with friends online, and I go through missions and become a better player," he says. "I have friends (who) play sometimes, but since it is a massive multi-player game, then I can meet and play with people."\nGamers do not need to have quite as much experience to come play in a tournament, however, Roberts says. \n"Not everyone has to be really competitive," he says. "We encourage people to come out for casual gaming and social interactions." \nAnd social interaction is the name of the game for the LANWars, Sarazan says. Back in the day, people had to physically hook up their computers to play against each other. But now that modern technology allows students to play against others through the Internet any time no matter where they are, the parties are more about getting together and having fun. \n"For the most part, it can be considered more of a gathering than a competition," Sarazan says. "As somebody that's never done well in tournaments, the best part is getting to socialize and meet other gamers to get to know them." \nAnd it probably doesn't hurt to quash a misconception in the meantime.\n"There is a kind of stereotype of gamers not being the most social of creatures," he says. "But LANWars bring a lot of people together to have a good time, and focuses on the party aspect of it"
(11/01/06 5:30am)
Rising Rents
(10/27/06 3:43am)
Cheering, screaming and hollering, about 550 students filled Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union to boost their favorite competitors to school-spirit glory in Thursday's "Yell Like Hell" spirit competition. \nAfter the RedSteppers performed an exhibition dance, 10 student and performance groups vied for victory in the competition, which kicked off homecoming weekend. The winner earned points toward the overall competition for homecoming court, said Phil Blomeke, director of events for the Student Alumni Association.\nActs varied from skits to dancing or singing performances. Most denigrated Michigan State, IU's opponent in Saturday's homecoming game, and celebrated the history of IU sports. \nIU Student Foundation earned first prize through a skit depicting famous IU alumni, including Jane Pauley, Trent Green, Mark Spitz, Trista Rehn "the Bachelorette," Jared Fogel "the Subway guy" and Herman B Wells, trying to de----termine the meaning of being a Hoosier. It ended with cheers when two Michigan State fans were inspired to rip off their green "S" shirts and become Hoosiers. \nCompetitors were judged on adherence to the event's theme, "Glory Days," props and costumes and audience response, said judge Jeremiah Shinn, associate director of student activities. \n"We are looking for creativity and the number of ways groups can incorporate the theme 'Glory Days,'" Shinn said. \nB97 radio personalities, including Aaron Shane, hosted the event, periodically ridiculing those who either did not realize or did not care that they had won raffle prizes. Raffle tickets were given away at the door, and prizes included gift certificates to various restaurants.\nThe Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity was the lone representative of the greek community, which Blomeke attributed to the greek community's own set of homecoming activities. \nFreshman Justin Renfro and several other pledges represented DKE by singing "Indiana, Our Indiana" and performing a stomp dance. Renfro said he and other pledges were encouraged by fraternity members to participate in the event. \n"The song was a train wreck," Renfro said. "It was just terrible. But the stomp dance was a huge success." \nOther first-time competitors included Sequel Dance, a co-ed hip-hop dance company. Members performed several numbers with pop songs, including Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back." \n"Some of the guys dressed up as nerdy guys from Michigan State and were just doing a real lame dance," group member Ashley Bullington said. "Then we kind of pushed them away and were bringing sexy back." \nSequel Dance will also perform in Friday's parade, Bullington said. She expects the group to continue to perform at "Yell Like Hell" in the future. \n"It was great just seeing all the different organizations at IU and what they can bring to the table," she said. "And having them yell like hell for you." \nRenfro, on the other hand, was less than certain he'd return next year, though he did not rule out the possibility of future pledges taking part in the event. \n"It was a good experience, and I'm glad I did it," Renfro said. "But I'll never do it again"
(10/26/06 7:29pm)
It's not every day a grown man can wear leather underwear and flash his genitalia in public. Even on Halloween, that stunt might not fly. But at the Buskirk Chumley's showing of the cult classic "Rocky Horror Picture Show," people just laugh. \nOf course, that is probably because the rest of the audience is dressed just as outrageously. \nOnce a play in London -- called the "Rocky Horror Show" -- the show was turned into a movie in 1975, says Randy White, artistic director for the Bloomington performance group Cardinal Stage Company. The movie's story follows a couple stranded in an unfamiliar place and forced to take refuge in a freak house run by transvestites. But as a mainstream film, the movie was a flop. \n"It opened and closed almost immediately," White says. "It was a disaster. It's a terrible movie; there's no way around it."\n"Rocky Horror" will be starting at about 9:00 p.m., then again at 11:30 p.m. next Saturday with a "de-virginization ceremony" for newcomers at the Buskirk Chumley. Tickets are $12, or $8 with a costume.\nFor newcomers, the sexy or disturbing costumes might seem intimidating, but seasoned enthusiasts offer advice to "Rocky Horror" virgins.\nFirst and foremost, says Lindsey Charles, a "Rocky Horror" enthusiast and the emcee of the show, is that you cannot appreciate the movie by watching it alone. \n"I know a lot of people who have seen the movie by themselves," Charles says. "That's just not how you watch it. You have to watch it in this environment or it's worthless."
(10/26/06 4:00am)
It's not every day a grown man can wear leather underwear and flash his genitalia in public. Even on Halloween, that stunt might not fly. But at the Buskirk Chumley's showing of the cult classic "Rocky Horror Picture Show," people just laugh. \nOf course, that is probably because the rest of the audience is dressed just as outrageously. \nOnce a play in London -- called the "Rocky Horror Show" -- the show was turned into a movie in 1975, says Randy White, artistic director for the Bloomington performance group Cardinal Stage Company. The movie's story follows a couple stranded in an unfamiliar place and forced to take refuge in a freak house run by transvestites. But as a mainstream film, the movie was a flop. \n"It opened and closed almost immediately," White says. "It was a disaster. It's a terrible movie; there's no way around it."\n"Rocky Horror" will be starting at about 9:00 p.m., then again at 11:30 p.m. next Saturday with a "de-virginization ceremony" for newcomers at the Buskirk Chumley. Tickets are $12, or $8 with a costume.\nFor newcomers, the sexy or disturbing costumes might seem intimidating, but seasoned enthusiasts offer advice to "Rocky Horror" virgins.\nFirst and foremost, says Lindsey Charles, a "Rocky Horror" enthusiast and the emcee of the show, is that you cannot appreciate the movie by watching it alone. \n"I know a lot of people who have seen the movie by themselves," Charles says. "That's just not how you watch it. You have to watch it in this environment or it's worthless."
(10/25/06 4:23am)
The most frightening part of Anna Satrom's ten-day journey in India was getting on the bus. \n"In India, they don't so much use traffic signals," she said. "They just sort of go wherever there is room. There would be five cars across a three-lane highway, and everyone would just be laying on the horns the whole time."\nSatrom was one of 60 sophomore business students to travel to Delhi, India to study different aspects of the economy and culture as part of an advanced program offered through the Kelley School of Business. But while the traffic situation might not show it, in the last 10 years India has emerged as the fastest growing economy in a rapidly shrinking world, said Dan Smith, dean of the Kelley School of Business. \nThe Sophomore Block program, which the Kelley School of Business offered for the first time this year, singled out 60 sophomores who were directly admitted to the business program as freshmen and who maintained a 3.6 grade point average, said Munirpallam Venkataramanan, chair of the Kelley School of Business's undergraduate program. These sophomores all took the same five honors-level business courses together, he said. \nBut the "cherry on top," sophomore Marc Uible said, was the 10-day trip to India to cap off one of the program's seminars, which discussed India as an emerging economy. \n"We really wanted the students to experience India rather than just read about it," Smith said. "We wanted them to experience the richness of that environment firsthand."\nStudents gained access to the country's parliament buildings through the assistance of Kelley school graduate Deepinder Hooda, a "rising star" in the Indian parliament, said George Vlahakis, chaperone and manager of IU Media Relations. \n"People in India don't visit their government the way we do," Valhakis said. "We can go to Washington D.C. and see the White House, but they don't have the same kind of access to seeing buildings because security is so tight." \nHooda also arranged for students to meet with the country's commerce and industry minister, Kamal Nath, who Valhakis called the "Alan Greenspan of India."\n"(Meeting Nath) was the coolest thing we did," sophomore Kelly Levin said. "He talked to us for a little while, but after that we had the opportunity to ask him questions about India and the state of the economy." \nStudents also explored different aspects of business in India, including a tour of a business process outsourcing company, more commonly known as a "call center." Students also viewed a Maruti Suzuki car factory and met with representatives from Tata Group, one of the largest companies in India.\nA favorite side trip was visiting the Taj Mahal and Red Fort in Agra, India, several students said. But many said they were surprised by the amount of poverty in India. \n"There is a vast difference between the rich and the poor," Satrom said. "You would see a brand-new high-rise being built, but right next to it would be a village of tarps." \nBut exposing students to an emerging economy's culture was an important factor in taking the Sophomore Block students to India, Venkataramanan said in an e-mail. \n"We have noticed that students typically travel to first-world countries to get their international experience," Venkataramanan said in an e-mail. "Given the important role the emerging countries play and are projected to play in the global economy, we believed that a field study to one of these countries will be a great educational experience for students in both the business and cultural sense." \nIndian companies will both partner with and be competition for American businesses in the near future, Smith said. \n"India is becoming a hot issue with a lot of work being outsourcing to India, as far as accounting and tech support," sophomore Scott Brier said. "An X-ray can be sent to India in the middle of the night, analyzed and returned by the next morning. By the time a lot of us get into the business world, India is going to be a major economic player"
(10/23/06 3:44am)
Vying for cash and glory, both Greeks and independents alike faced off in Sigma Alpha Mu's three-on-three basketball tournament Saturday afternoon. The event, which benefited the Alzheimer's Association and Dance Marathon, raised $3,500. \n"We wanted to make a significant impact on a disease that affects thousands of people around the country," said junior Jeff Danziger, vice president of the fraternity. "Alzheimer's doesn't get a lot of attention, so we brought the event on campus to raise awareness and raise money for a significant cause." \nBounce 4 Beats -- so named because the event had previously benefited the American Heart Association -- pitted three-person teams against each other in a single-elimination tournament, Danziger said. Games lasted 20 minutes or until one team scored 15 points, whichever came first. \nTwenty-five teams competed for a $300 cash prize. About half were from fraternities and half were independent, Danziger said. And many were a mix, including overall winner Team Family, a group of four juniors..\nOriginally the event was held on campus in the Health, Physical Education, and Recreation gym, but this year, Sigma Alpha Mu members purchased basketball hoops and set up a tournament behind their house. \n"We wanted to provide a street ball atmosphere," Danziger said. "You call your own fouls and the best team wins."\nWith 25 teams, the event increased about twice in size since last year, Danziger said. By next year, they hope to increase to 40 men's teams and encourage women to form their own teams as well, he said. \nThe fraternity also teamed up with a sorority for the first time, Danziger said. The Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority worked with Sigma Alpha Mu to sell food, T-shirts and raffle tickets. The raffle included signed basketballs and footballs from Kelvin Sampson and Terry Hoeppner, the raffle and they raised about $100, he said.\n"Some of the basketball players were going to come if it didn't conflict with practice," Danziger said. "Unfortunately, they did end up having practice, but they sent their support." \nHalf of the total $3,500 will go to the Alzheimer's Association, Sigma Alpha Mu's national philanthropy, and the other half will go to IU Dance Marathon.\n"Dance Marathon is the biggest philanthropy, and it is very close to us because of Ashley Crouse," said junior Kimberly Fairchild, a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.\nNew Sigma Alpha Mu pledges made up two of the teams, freshman Zach Stein said. Stein said his strategy, picking the tallest pledge, failed when his team was eliminated in the first round. \n"It didn't feel great (getting eliminated), but I tried my hardest," Stein said.\nOther teams brought more experience to the competition as this year's winner, Team Family, was previously the champion of IU's intramural basketball tournament. \nIt came as no surprise then when juniors John Guidry, Matt Campbell, Greg Freeman and Tre Kemp of Team Family won the competition. \n"We are blowing everyone away," Freeman said during the competition.
(10/16/06 4:18am)
Zeta Tau Alpha's annual philanthropy event had two big winners Friday night. While this year's Big Man on Campus, junior Ray Vanlanot, went home with the crown, the ZTA Foundation, benefiting breast cancer research, was perhaps the true winner. \nAll profits from the record-breaking $109,200 raised by this year's event, called "Viva Las Vegas: Beating the odds against breast cancer," will go to support the foundation. \n"No matter the outcome, it is the money that counts," Vanlanot, Theta Chi president, said. \nThe $109,200 surpassed the sorority's goal of $100,000 and eclipsed last year's total by about $13,000. Setting another record for the event, about 2,600 people packed into the IU Auditorium to watch the event, about 100 more than last year, said junior Hallie Jaeger, ZTA's philanthropy chair. \n"It is a real rush to just be part of such a big event," Vanlanot said, "and to have so many people out there supporting you and egging you on." \nBig Man on Campus featured performances by 20 men, each representing a different fraternity and coached by members of a different sorority or the IU Student Foundation, Jaeger said. \n"It's wonderful because it is not just Zeta," Jaeger said. \nVanlanot, portraying Frank Sinatra, performed the singer's famous hit "Luck be a Lady." The performance earned him Best Talent honors, while the $6,738 he raised through Theta Chi and partner sorority Kappa Alpha Theta netted him the award for most funds raised. \nMost of the performances were musical, though they ranged from traditional favorites like "Sweet Caroline" to an original rap to encourage awareness about breast cancer.\nFor his act, second runner-up Jon Chan of Lambda Chi Alpha dressed as a Chippendale dancer and sang "Working for the Weekend." \n"(The best part of the event) was seeing a small community being able to raise so much money," Chan said. \nJacobs School of Music senior lecturer and two-time Grammy winner Sylvia McNair, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, performed two songs in addition to judging the competition. \n"Cancer was one of the best things that ever happened to me," McNair said during her performance. "It's a real perspective-getter."\nMoments later, McNair lifted off her wig, tossed it onto her accompanist's grand piano and began her second number, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."\n"It was the most phenomenal moment of the show," Jaeger said. "It was such a moment of strength for her and all survivors out there. It was really inspirational to see all the hope she brings."\nAt intermission, audience members could vote for their favorite act by putting money into that performer's bag. The event's People's Choice winner this year was Mike McElroy of Acacia, an Indiana Daily Student staffer, who brought in more than $500, Jaeger said.\nA silent auction of a number of goods the University and community donated offered participants another chance to raise funds for the philanthropy. \nDick Peterson, father of senior Katie Peterson, a ZTA member, said his wife bid on several of the items. \n"If we got everything (my wife) bid on and (we) spend $1,000, it would be the best $1,000 I've spent this year," Dick Peterson said. \nPerforming is nothing new to this year's Big Man on Campus. Vanlanot, a pre-med, biology and psychology major, has played piano since the age of 4. He also earned second runner-up honors in last year's Big Man on Campus for his performance as Tom Cruise, singing "You've Lost that Loving Feeling."\nThis winter, Vanlanot will release two solo albums, which he said he will sell or give away to friends and family. Still, he is not looking to take his hobby professional any time soon. \n"Music will keep me sane through medical school," Vanlanot said.\nVanlanot is unsure whether he will return next year to defend his crown, but he did not rule it out as a possibility. \n"If someone else in my fraternity wants to do it, that'll be great," Vanlanot said, "but if not, I'll see what I can do"
(10/16/06 2:31am)
The Den changed more in three days than it has in the 30 years it's been open.\nFrom Oct. 6-8, the store, which has been an institution in downtown Bloomington since 1976, changed its name, its location and even its focus, long-time manager Jim Cushing said. Now called Campustown, the Den moved from its previous home on Kirkwood Avenue to a new location on North Walnut Street.\nA few months ago, the IU Foundation, owner of the building that housed the Den, contacted the business's owners and told them it would not renew the Den's lease, assistant manager Jason Hackett said. The IU Foundation ultimately allowed the Den to remain in the building for two months until the owners found a new location.\nThe IU Foundation's public relations manager, Barbara Coffman, said the Den had a long-term lease for the Kirkwood Avenue location, which the IU Foundation declined to renew because of "issues about (their) business relationship." Coffman would not elaborate on what the specific problems were.\nCushing said he was unaware of any issues between the two companies.\n"If there were issues, they were never addressed to me," Cushing said. "My working relationship with the IU Foundation has always been good."\nThe IU Foundation purchased the property about 10 years ago, Coffman said. The Foundation occasionally buys property at the University's request because the process is faster, she said.\nThe IU Foundation is now looking for new tenants for the venue, Coffman said. Meanwhile, the new Campustown has moved to North Walnut Street between Seventh and Eighth streets, next to Scotty's Brewhouse, replacing Sol Spa.\n"It is kind of a trade-off," Cushing said. "We lose the foot traffic from Kirkwood but gain from people being able to park because that was always a big complaint on Kirkwood. Plus, it's great being next to Scotty's and across from Kilroy's Sports because they both do a lot of business."\nThe Den used to carry fountain drinks, health and beauty items and smoking accessories, Cushing said. The new location will carry mostly IU and greek merchandise, he said. \nNot everyone appreciates the Den's transformation, however. For sophomore Nick Molin, a Bloomington resident, the Den was the best place to hang out when he was about 14.\n"It was just a nice place to walk into," Molin said. "It had the same appeal as a gas station -- you could buy cigarettes and energy drinks."\nMolin used to skateboard around the Den, but in the last couple of years he said he has noticed a change in the merchandise at the store and said it has become, for lack of a better word, "frattier."\n"It used to be more townie," Molin said. "It was hippie, stoner, college chic. I never remembered them selling lettered shirts until recently."\nWhen the store first opened in 1976, it sold records. The focus of the Den continued to be music for years, until students began downloading music, Cushing said.\n"College students don't buy music anymore -- they steal it off the Internet," Cushing said. "It's all about file-sharing and downloading now."\nThe era of the iPod led the Den to pursue more apparel merchandising, Cushing said. Clothing sold so well that now the business will print letters on clothing on-site, he said.\n"We just started, but (clothing sales) have gotten bigger and bigger," Cushing said. "We've discontinued other items to continue to keep that our focus."\nThe Den moved and changed to Campustown over the weekend of Oct. 6 and opened Oct. 9, Cushing said. He plans on a grand opening over homecoming weekend, Oct. 26-28, but in the meantime still has to hammer out some details at the new store.\n"Right now it's about getting walls up and the heat working," Cushing said. "The little stuff"
(10/15/06 1:06am)
Zeta Tau Alpha's annual philanthropy event had two big winners Friday night. While this year's Big Man on Campus, junior Ray Vanlanot, went home with a crown, the ZTA Foundation, benefiting breast cancer research, perhaps was the true winner.\nAll profits from the record-breaking $109,200 raised from the event will go to support the foundation. \n"No matter the outcome, it is the money that counts," Vanlanot, a member of the Theta Chi Fraternity, said. \nThe $109,200 surpassed the sorority's goal of $100,000, and last year's total by about $13,000. Setting another record, about 2,600 people packed into the IU Auditorium, to watch the event, said Hallie Jaeger, ZTA's philanthropy chair. \nThe event featured performances by 20 men representing 19 different fraternities and one student group. \nVanlanot, portraying Frank Sinatra, performed the singer's famous hit "Luck be a Lady." The performance earned him "Best Talent" honors, while the $6,738 he raised through his Theta Chi and partner sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, also netted him the award for most funds raised. \nThe event also featured a performance by Sylvia McNair, a two-time Grammy winner who is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Before performing her second song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," McNair took off her wig and tossed it onto her accompanist's grand piano. \n"It was the most phenomenal moment of the show," Jaeger said. "We've gotten to know her so well, both (of) our hearts just melted. It was such a moment of strength for her and all survivors out there. It was really inspirational to see all the hope she brings"
(10/13/06 5:16am)
Friday the 13th might usually be associated with ghosts and ghouls, but this Friday's events will help raise funds for a more realistic fear -- breast cancer. \nBig Man on Campus, hosted annually by the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, pits representatives from fraternity houses and other student organizations against each other in a talent competition to raise money for breast cancer research, said junior Hallie Jaeger, the sorority's philanthropy chair. \nLast year, the sorority raised $96,000 and was able to donate $69,000 to its charity, the ZTA Foundation, Jaeger said. It was the highest amount raised by any of the 239 national chapters of ZTA, she said. \nThis year Jaeger is setting the bar even higher. The sorority hopes to raise $100,000, while ultimately donating $75,000 towards cancer research after recouping costs. \nThe sorority is already well on its way. Last year, about 2,500 students attended the Big Man on Campus event. This year, ZTA has already sold 2,700 tickets. However, the women hope the number will increase since the IU Auditorium holds 3,400 people, and tickets will be sold at the door, she said. \nIn a move to encourage more participation for the event, Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan declared today to be "Zeta Big Man on Campus Day," honoring the event.\n"Mayor Kruzan often likes to recognize special events in Bloomington by issuing a proclamation," Maria Heslin, Kruzan's communications director, said in an e-mail. "These proclamations help publicize the event within the Bloomington community, hopefully helping to raise awareness for and increase attendance to these worthwhile fundraising efforts." \nAudience members will witness 19 fraternities and one student organization, the IU Student Foundation, send a man to compete for the top title, Big Man on Campus, Jaeger said. Each man creates his own act, but all relate to this year's theme, "Viva Las Vegas: Beating the odds against breast cancer." \nJunior Brad Bauer, a member of Kappa Sigma, will dress as Neil Diamond and sing "Sweet Caroline," he said. \nFraternity members and the InMotion Dance Company will perform dance numbers, as the competition will open with a performance by all 20 participating fraternity members, who will be paired up with Zeta dancers, Jaeger said. \n"We are telling these boys to dance in front of 3,200 people, and they are actually willing to do it," said senior and Zeta member Brooke Stingelin, choreographer of the dance. "They make it easy for us to be in charge." \nTwo-time Grammy winner and guest judge Sylvia McNair will also perform, Jaeger said. \nSigning up for Big Man on Campus is no small commitment. During the course of a month, participants practice four days a week for two hours at a time in preparation, Jaeger said. \n"Every one of our representatives has to be so dedicated before they even think of signing up," Jaeger said. "It is amazing." \nEach contestant pairs with a coach from one of the sorority houses, said sophomore coaches Andrea Druml and Nicole Staffin, both of Phi Mu. The coaches spent about three hours a week practicing with their contestant, she said. \n"We don't work nearly as hard as the guys," Druml said. "Our main responsibility is helping to raise money and sell T-shirts." \nWinning the title is not based solely on talent, Jaeger said. Of the total score, 70 percent is based on the amount of money raised and a man's dedication to the competition, she said, and the rest is for talent. \nEach competitor is required to sell 50 T-shirts and 50 tickets for the competition, Jaeger said. Tickets cost $12, and T-shirts cost $10, she said. \n"I've sold shirts to people at the bars at 3 a.m.," Bauer said. "I'm always looking for the chance to hawk them."\nDespite all the preparation for the performance, the most important moment comes after the new Big Man on Campus has been announced, Jaeger said. \n"The culminating moment of the show (last year) was to be onstage and get that envelope and find out we'd raised $96,000," Jaeger said. "Everyone has been so touched. When so many people come together for a cause, wonderful things tend to happen"
(10/06/06 2:20am)
As a practicing physician in Bloomington for the last 12 years, Eric Bannec has seen what can happen to people who go without medical insurance. \n"When individuals have to choose between going to the doctor or putting food on the table, often their own health care loses," Bannec said. "High blood pressure or diabetes can go untreated, and then the next thing you know they are in the emergency room presenting with chest pain." \nFortunately for the estimated 21,000 uninsured Monroe and Owen county residents, a new, no-cost health care clinic is slated to open in Bloomington in July 2007. The Volunteers in Medicine clinic will provide treatment for both acute and chronic problems, as well as educational programming about healthy living, said Rajih Haddawi, chairman of the Volunteers in Medicine of Monroe county. \nThe clinic will serve residents of Monroe and Owen counties who are without any form of health insurance and whose income falls at or double the amount of the federal poverty line. This year, patients making less than $19,600 for a single adult and $40,000 for a family of four annually will qualify. \nThe Volunteers in Medicine clinic will replace the Community Health Access Program, a low-cost clinic run by Bloomington Hospital. The new clinic will have more than four times the capacity of the Community Health Access Program clinic, according to a press release.\n"The (community clinic) has reached a level of saturation and could not expand," Hadawwi said. \nBloomington Hospital donated the facilities and three paid employees to the new Volunteers in Medicine clinic, said Bannec, the clinic's volunteer medical director. \n"(The community clinic) will roll over into the new clinic," Bannec said. "Almost all the patients of (Community Health Access Program) will move into the (Volunteers in Medicine) clinic." \nMonroe County's Volunteers in Medicine clinic was formed along the same guidelines as the 50 other Volunteers in Medicine clinics that have opened around the country since 1993, according to a media release. Volunteer doctors, nurse-practitioners and nurses will work a four-hour shift once a month. \nEveryone Haddawi talked to has been enthusiastic about the idea, Hadawwi said. So far, 48 doctors and 16 nurse-practitioners have committed to volunteering. \n"I haven't been turned down yet," he said. \nSpecialists and dentists who volunteer to help out will probably see patients in their offices, Bannac said. If a patient comes in needing a referral to a specialist, he or she will be sent to one of the volunteer doctors on a rotating basis. \n"When you talk to the working poor, one of the biggest gripes is that they have a toothache," Bannac said. "So far we have approximately five to 10 dentists interested, so we will be able to refer people to their offices on a rotation schedule." \nHaddawi said it would cost $9 million a year to run the health care clinic if it were not for physicians and nurses donating their time and expertise, free medications from the drug companies and Bloomington Hospital's donation of the clinic's premises. Between these donations, which cover 93 percent of the clinic budget, and grants, the clinic needs only about $400,000 to run yearly. \n"The new clinic will be owned by the community," Haddawi said. "That's where our finances and our volunteers -- lay or medical -- will come from."\nMuch of the preliminary funding came from the $600,000 donated by Cook Group Inc., a medical device manufacturer based in Bloomington, Bannec said. \nThough community response to the new clinic so far has been impressive, Bannac stressed the need for even more volunteers, whether medical professionals or laypersons. \n"We need lots of lay volunteers to check people into the clinic and to make phone calls," Bannac said. "And a big part of the clinic is the medication. You have to fill out a lot of complicated paperwork for indigent programs at pharmaceutical companies to get free \nmedications." \nFor acute symptoms, the clinic will have a pharmacy on hand to provide medication, Hadawwi said. For symptoms requiring prolonged medication, such as depression or diabetes, patients must complete a paperwork process to receive treatments free of charge. \nEducation will be a huge part of the clinic, Haddawi said. Volunteers will host classes about managing diabetes, as well as other aspects of wellness. The clinic will also continue smoking cessation classes previously offered through Bloomington Hospital and the community clinic, he said. \n"There is going to be a very big emphasis on education and class attendance," Haddawi said. "People have to take responsibility for changing their lifestyles and taking care of themselves."\nHaddawi practiced medicine in Bloomington for 33 years before retiring last year, he said. In that time, he saw the need for such a clinic first-hand, he said. In January 2005 he met with others to discuss starting a branch of the Volunteers in Medicine clinics. The clinic will open this July, only about 19 months after the initial planning started. \nIn its first year alone, the clinic is expected to treat about 14,000 people. Haddawi is still making plans for the future. \n"We expect we'll have a central location in town (in 10 years) and that the clinic will be large enough to accommodate the 20,000 people that will come through for visits," he said. "We'll have dental care in-house, and expand on the volunteer education programs"
(10/04/06 4:40am)
In an event Tuesday that was both literally and figuratively groundbreaking, officials ceremoniously dug shovels into the future site of the nation's first proton therapy training center. \nThe ProCure Training and Development Center, set to open in early 2008 on North Walnut Street, will train technicians to use the most advanced form of radiation treatment available to fight cancerous tumors. \n"Bloomington will be a world leader in proton therapy," Steve Bryant, director of the Bloomington Life Science Partnership, said during the ceremony. \nProton therapy allows radiation to specifically target a certain area, which means tumors are killed off more quickly and patients have a higher quality of life, said Hadley Ford, the chief executive officer and director of ProCure. \nChildren especially benefit from proton therapy, according to ProCure literature. Because their bodies are still growing, traditional radiation therapies can cause debilitating growth abnormalities and other serious complications. Proton therapy also lessens the side effects of traditional radiation therapy, including headaches, diarrhea and loss of appetite. \n"One-point-four million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and 800,000 of them will be treated with some form of radiation," Ford said. "But only 1 percent will have access to proton therapy. ProCure is looking to change that."\nThose changes are starting right now. Currently, only five hospitals in the United States use proton therapy. But ProCure has just begun construction on two more centers and expects to build two or three more each year, President and Chairman John Cameron said. \n"Let's get protons out there and cure a lot of people," he said.\nThe ProCure Training and Development Center will teach medical professionals how to use proton therapy techniques before they start working at a ProCure treatment center. \n"We are not offering on-the-job training; we're offering before-the-job training," Ford said. \nWhile the ProCure Training and Development Center will be new to Bloomington, proton therapy is not.\nBloomington's Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute, located just north of the stadium, is one of only a handful of centers around the country currently using proton therapy, Cameron said. The facility treats 20 to 25 patients a day, Cameron said. \nCameron, until recently a professor of physics and director of the IU Cyclotron Facility, was also responsible for finding some of the initial funding and construction of the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute. \nFounding ProCure is Cameron's second dream. It's "one I never thought I'd get to have," he said. \nThe training center is expected to have a positive impact on Bloomington's economy, said Gary Shelley, interim president of the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation.\n"(The training center) is exactly the kind of stuff this community is looking for," Shelley said. "It'll bring high-paying and highly skilled jobs to Bloomington." \nThe center will train about 150 to 250 people at a time, who will come to Bloomington from all over the country for about eight weeks at a time, Cameron said. In a speech during the ground-breaking ceremony, Mayor Mark Kruzan noted that those people staying in Bloomington's hotels and eating in its restaurants will have a positive effect on the local economy. \nBut even more importantly, Kruzan said, is the center will establish Bloomington's role as a life science hub. \n"Indiana will become a cancer-cure crossroads of America," State Representative Peggy Welch said.
(10/02/06 3:31am)
Clad in swimming trunks, cropped white T-shirts and fabric knotted around their heads, four members of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity somersaulted into the Health, Physical Education and Recreation pool Friday night to Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)."\n"We wanted to spice up our routine, but we didn't have time to get Speedos," said freshman Joe Mutton, a member of the fraternity's team.\nAnd that was only the beginning of the 90-second synchronized swimming routine that helped the fraternity become victorious in front of a record crowd at Delta Gamma's Anchor Splash. The philanthropy event pitted 14 teams against each other in two relay races and a synchronized swimming competition to raise money for blindness prevention, the sorority's national cause. \n"Every chapter of Delta Gamma does an Anchor Splash or Anchor Days event," said senior Cathy Blumenfeld, Delta Gamma's organizer of the event. "And everything has to benefit the blind. I believe our chapter gives money to the Indiana School for the Blind." \nThe 14 teams were each made up of four members of a sorority or fraternity, with the exception of one team composed of the Delta Gamma house waiters, Blumenfeld said. Events included a lit-candle relay, a wet T-shirt race and a synchronized swimming event.\n"Every fraternity and sorority sponsors a philanthropy event," Blumenfeld said. "So we participate in theirs, and they participate in ours." \nBut competition turned dirty in the candle relay, in which competitors tried to swim a length of the pool with a lit candle and hand it to a teammate without extinguishing the flame. Some confusion surrounded the event, and teams looked to new tactics by splashing at opposing teams' candles. \n"That's the type of stuff that happens in raw competition," Mutton said. \nTwo members of Delta Gamma were assigned to each team to help competitors create a synchronized swimming routine, Blumenfeld said. Seven members of Delta Gamma and the sorority's house mom, who were the judges for the event, held up numbers one through 10 to grade each performance. \n"We graded on four categories: creativity, sexiness, execution and overall effect," senior and Delta Gamma event judge Katie Sexton said. "I think the Delta Gamma waiters will always have a place in our hearts, but the FIJI ninja turtles were also a top performer." \nPoints were also awarded for how many people came to support each team, Blumenfeld said. Mutton said that at least 35 people came out to support Phi Gamma Delta, though Blumenfeld estimated the number at even more than that. Blumenfeld guessed about 130 people attended the event.\n"It's the biggest turnout we've had in a while," she said. \nEach team was charged $75 to participate, while spectators paid $1. As of press time, Blumenfeld could not say how much money the sorority had earned because she was unsure how much the DJ and HPER pool were charging, but the event raised more this year than in recent years, she said. \nLast year, only eight teams participated in the Anchor Splash event. First-time participants in this year's events included Sigma Chi. \n"This year was our first time, but we are definitely going to do it for years to come," sophomore and member of the Sigma Chi team Ryan Anderson said. \nHis teammate, whose stomach was still red from a face-first flop in the pool, had one stipulation however. \n"Only if we cut out the belly-buster," sophomore John Parker Wiethoff said.