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(03/27/06 6:57am)
Coated in fake blood, vomit and intestines, seven volunteers spent more than an hour Saturday pretending to be victims as part of a mock car crash during intermission of Little 500 qualifications. The event, organized by the IUEMS, the emergency medical service group on campus, was intended to raise awareness about the dangers of driving while under the influence. \n"Hopefully seeing a realistic view of an accident will make people think twice about their decisions," said Amanda Levinson, vice-president of IUEMS and the chief organizer of the event. \nThe "crash" took place in the Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse parking lot. Two wrecked cars, provided by a junk yard, were arranged to look like a drunken driver had run a red light and been "T-boned" by another vehicle. EMT Kelli Jo Gatewood played a biker, who was "hit" by the cars and pronounced dead at the scene.\n"Being put in a body bag and driven off in a hearse was probably the creepiest thing that I have ever done in my entire life," Gatewood said.\nPolice were asked to respond as if the accident were real, IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. Police officers, paramedics and firefighters were on the scene to perform triage and extricate the victims from the vehicles the same way they would in any other accident. Firefighters used the "jaws of life" to cut through metal to remove one victim, while the drunken driver was mock-arrested by the police.\n"For me the scariest part was not being able to see anything," volunteer Lauren Arnett said. "I was supposed to be unconscious and unresponsive, (so) I couldn't actually look and see what was going on." \nMost of the other "victims" were involved in IUEMS, said Arnett, who volunteered on behalf of event co-sponsor Panhellenic Association. After 45 minutes of lying on the ground, Arnett was strapped to a backboard and placed in a Lifeline helicopter, which flew around for a few minutes before landing back in the parking lot so spectators could look inside. \n"It is about community awareness," Lifeline paramedic Jana Pogue said. "If it allows one person to think twice about drinking and driving, our involvement is worth it." \nPreparation for the event began at 7 a.m., and the finishing touches were not completed until just before the event started at 2 p.m, Levinson said. Teen Life Productions, which filmed the mock crash for educational use, provided professional makeup to make volunteers' "wounds" look as realistic as possible. \nThe process started with latex, which had to be blow dried between layers, Arnett said. The latex was then cut apart and covered with fake blood so that it would appear that victims' body parts had actually been ripped open. For a finishing touch, rock candy was used to resemble glass embedded in the skin.\n"When you touched it, blood would actually squirt out," Arnett said. "It was very realistic."\nThe idea for the event was first proposed last year by IUEMS as a way to get involved in the community, Levinson said. Its biggest event of the year is Little 500, when IUEMS oversees practices and tends to any injuries that occur in the crowd, she said. \nDespite Little 500's reputation as a weekend of partying, the number of arrests for drunken driving does not really spike during this time, which Minger attributes to the increased police presence. \n"As a firefighter and an EMT, I have seen real accidents," Gatewood said. "I have also worked Little 500 the last two years, and I see the number of students and the level of intoxication. I just hope that the demonstration keeps a few more people off the roads"
(03/10/06 5:14am)
For producer and IU alumnus Jason Lee, coming to IU to film his first full-length documentary is like returning home. The former president of the Gamma Eta chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity will spend the next two months following members of the chapter's step team as they prepare for their April 22 competition at the IU Auditorium.\n"The film is about exposing the phenomena of the step show and what goes into it," Lee said. "And I want to shed positive light on African-American fraternities and sororities."\nLee was sitting in his apartment one day about six months ago when the idea "just came to him," he said. He immediately contacted his fraternity brothers at IU and made plans to come to campus. \n"Stepping is something that has always been interesting to people who do it, but we want to get it more into the mainstream," Lee said. "It just seemed natural to do it at IU." \nFor the past five years, Lee has been working in Los Angeles on a number of different projects, including writing screenplays. However, this documentary will be the first test for his newly formed production company, Griffin and Lee Entertainment.\nA deciding factor in making the film was the timing, Lee said. The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity will be celebrating its centennial anniversary this year. Another reason was the dominance of the IU step team, something that Lee, a former "step master," is very familiar with.\n"Our step team is very, very good," Lee said. "When I was here, we won the Circle City Classic in Indianapolis and a bunch of other competitions." \nThe fraternity is enthusiastic about the project, said Cameron Beatty, president of the National Panhellenic Council and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. The film will show the whole perspective of the fraternity and stepping, not just what people can see at parties or competition.\n"We want the world to know what it is like to be in an African-American fraternity," Lee said. "We do a lot of great things, and what better outlet is there than through a movie?"\nCameramen will spend the next two months tailing members of the step team throughout their daily activities, Lee said. Going to class is no exception.\n"Everyone in my classes had to sign waivers so that the camera could go to class with me," said senior Terrance Dennie, a member of the IU step team. "Everyone was pretty cool about it, but afterwards a lot of people came up and were asking about what they were filming me for." \nThough Dennie does his best to be himself on days the camera is on him, he admits he sometimes gets a little self-conscious.\n"I mean, I don't want the camera to see me picking my nose or something," Dennie said.\nLike students, University officials have also been open to the production, Lee said.\n"The University wants to encourage creativity, so we take a 'hands-off' approach to deciding what can be filmed," said David Rust, vice president of corporate partnerships. "Our only interest is in making sure academic activities aren't inhibited." \nThe film should be released sometime in fall 2006, Lee said. Where it will be shown depends on distribution deals and whether other companies like the film. \n"I will take the DVD to everyone on campus's house, sit them down and make them watch it," Lee said. "It is something that everyone -- students, graduates and faculty -- should support"
(03/09/06 6:16pm)
When T.K. Walters walks across the stage and accepts his IU diploma, he will fulfill a lifelong promise to his mother that he would someday receive his bachelor's degree. What his mother might not have expected, however, is that her son would never have to set foot on the campus from which he would graduate. \nWalters is the first student to sign up for a new program between IU and Santa Barbara City College, a community college in California. The program allows students to take 90 credit hours at Santa Barbara and finish their degree through online and correspondence coursework via IU's online distance studies program. Students don't even need to set foot in the Midwest to earn their IU diplomas, though all are welcome to come to Bloomington for graduation ceremonies to personally accept them.\nThe program caters to nontraditional students like Walters, said Pablo Buckelew, the dean of the Educational Programs Support Office at Santa Barbara City College. Most of the people interested in the program are working adults who cannot afford to go to a four-year university full time. \n"There are people who thought they'd never be able to get a bachelor's degree because there is no opportunity to do so in Santa Barbara," Buckelew said. "For them, this is life-changing." \nFor students like Walters, the program is ideal, Buckelew said.\nThough Walters attended California State Northridge until his senior year in 1974 -- when a job opportunity arose -- he decided to put his education on hold. Marriage and children quickly followed, and it was not until his children grew up that he was able to begin taking classes again.\n"I always intended to go back and finish eventually," Walters said. "But by the time my children had grown up enough that I had time, my major -- commercial recreation -- no longer existed and I had to essentially start over."\nA long-time football coach at Santa Barbara City College, Walters had been taking classes there sporadically for the past 11 years. Recently, Walters considered taking time off from coaching to attend University of California Santa Barbara but found there were not many night classes offered. When a colleague told him about the possibility of earning an IU degree, he knew it would be perfect. \nHowever, not everyone agrees that the program is in the best interests of IU. Mary Forsell, who grew up in Indiana and attended Indiana State University, said the program lessens the value of an IU degree.\n"The program sounds unbelievably fantastic for people at (Santa Barbara) City College, but what are IU students getting out of it?" Forsell said. "It makes it look like a cheap diploma."\nA Santa Barbara resident for almost 30 years, Forsell questions whether the local community college is of the same caliber as IU. \n"I just do not see how three years (at Santa Barbara City College) plus a year of online courses could possibly be comparable to a full four years at IU," Forsell said. \nBut the program is not an easy way to earn a degree, cautioned Lisa Denlinger, the director of marketing and communications in the University-wide School of Continuing Studies. In some ways it can be more difficult because distance education students take the same classes as their traditional undergraduate counterparts, but must be self-motivated and self-disciplined about getting the work done, she said. \nThough Santa Barbara City College has not yet started advertising the program, response generated just by word-of-mouth has been incredible, Buckelew said. He expects between 100 and 200 people to apply for the fall 2006 semester. \nCurrently, there are six other community colleges in California that will partner with IU to allow students to earn their degrees, Denlinger said. Ultimately, Denlinger expects there to be about 40 California schools in the program, citing the strength of the state's community college network as a reason. \nIU is also planning to offer the program to schools in other states, with eight Illinois schools signed on for the program. It will not be offered in Indiana, however, because students here can earn their degrees on campus, Denlinger said.\n"I can't emphasize enough that this is a win-win-win situation," Denlinger said. "Out-of-state students are able to earn their bachelor's degrees, and more students take IU courses and earn IU degrees." \nAll California community colleges offer open admissions to anyone who either has a high school diploma or is over the age of 18, Buckelew said. To apply to the IU distance studies program, students must have earned their associate's degrees and have a minimum 2.0 grade point \naverage. Students involved in the distance education program receive the same diploma as students who study on campus, Denlinger said. Students can earn a Bachelor of General Studies, with an emphasis in either arts and humanities, mathematical and natural sciences or social and behavioral sciences.\nWalters will start taking a few IU courses online this summer and with any luck expects to graduate by spring of 2008, if not sooner, he said. \n"It will be a joyous moment, fulfilling a commitment I made to my mother, even though she isn't around any more," Walters said. "When you are young, you take for granted that earning your degree is just something that you'll do. To be achieving it now, it is momentous"
(03/02/06 4:59am)
When Frank Motley first set foot on Columbia University's campus in 1966, he was one of only 32 black students in a class of more than 600. Joining Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically black fraternity, helped him feel more at home in his new environment. \nFew appreciate the tension of being a black student on a predominantly white campus, said Motley, IU associate vice chancellor for academic support. Motley was one of the first black students admitted to an Ivy League school at a time when many did not believe they belonged there. \n"Brotherhood helped deal with the tension," Motley said. "Not everyone had the same politics, but there was always a sense of shared experience." \nAlpha Phi Alpha -- recognized as the first black fraternity in the nation -- was formed by seven black men, known as the seven "Jewels" at Cornell University in 1906, according to the Alpha Phi Alpha Web site. This year, the fraternity celebrates its 100th anniversary.\n"The 100-year celebration of the fraternity means 100 years of black men in college," Motley said. "That might not seem like such a big deal now, but back then a black man in college might as well have been a black man on the moon." \nAll black fraternities started as support groups for black students, said Eric Love, director of diversity education at IU. They were allowed to attend classes, but they could not participate in contact sports, extracurricular activities or enter the student center. Starting fraternities allowed black students a social outlet of their own on predominantly white campuses. \nThe Gamma Eta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha was started at IU in 1947, according to the Alpha Phi Alpha Web site. It became the first black organization to participate in the Little 500 bicycle race, fielding teams in races during the early 1960s. \nCurrently, there are five undergraduate and about 15 graduate student members of Alpha Phi Alpha, one of five predominantly black fraternities at IU, said Ellis Dumas III, the secretary of the IU chapter of the fraternity. \nThe fraternity has a reputation of being focused on academics, Dumas said. People join the brotherhood because of this reputation, as well as for the social aspects of being involved in the fraternity, he said. \n"I personally joined because two of my mentors, teachers who directed me towards college, were both Alphas," Dumas said. "Also, when I did some research I found that Martin Luther King Jr. was in (Alpha Phi Alpha) and that inspired me." \nBeing part of a small black organization on a predominantly white campus can also make members more comfortable, Dumas said. \n"When you are sometimes the only African-American in a classroom, going and talking to other members of the fraternity can help make you feel at home," Dumas said. \nHowever, Dumas emphasized that the fraternity is not limited to black men. More recently, members of other cultures have joined the fraternity nationwide, he said. As time goes on, he expects the fraternities to become even more integrated. \n"I think that this is what the founders wanted us to do," Dumas said. "We are building a bridge between the black and white communities." \nTo celebrate the 100th anniversary of the fraternity, all the undergraduate members will attend the Alpha Phi Alpha National Convention in July. Dumas said the trip is about celebrating brotherhood.
(02/20/06 4:20am)
Since its inception in 2000, the Advocates for Community Engagement (ACE) program at IU has become a replicable model for service-learning programs as far away as Ireland and Central Asia and as close as Indiana's Butler University. However, the end of a four-year grant from the Lumina Foundation at the close of this school year has sent the program searching for additional funding.\nThe ACE program employs undergraduates to work as liaisons between non-profit organizations within the community and the students and faculty involved in service-learning. It helps facilitate service projects in a wide range of departments, from biology to business, through which students can receive class credit. More than 40 courses offer a service-learning component.\n"The program is a hybrid of academic and student affairs," said Claire King, director of the Community Outreach and Partnerships in Service-Learning program. "It bridges that divide while reaching out to the community." \nThe program started with just two ACE employees in 2000, but receiving the Lumina Foundation Fund allowed the department to greatly expand the program, King said. There are 23 undergraduates employed to work as ACE representatives. The grant covers about half of those costs. \n"Without the grant, we would still be at about eight to 10 ACEs," King said. "Many of our ACEs say that they would do it for free, but most of them could not afford it." \nKing said ACE employees are paid for 10 hours of work per week, but they actually work closer to 15 hours.\nAn ACE representative's responsibilities include taking charge of orientation for volunteers, helping facilitate communication on service-learning group projects and talking to faculty about adding service-learning programs, said Colleen O'Rourke, a second-year ACE employee. The program looks for employees that are independent, resourceful and passionate about service.\nStudents tend to monopolize hourly-wage jobs and reduce the feasibility of owning a home in college towns for year-round residents, O'Rourke said. \n"Service-learning can help try and cover those negative footsteps," she said. \nCurrently, ACE program is searching for University funding to replace the expiring grant, King said.\n"We are seeking for the University to recognize ACE's contribution to the civic engagement priority on campus," King said. \nW. Raymond Smith, the associate vice chancellor of academic affairs and student retention, said people generally consider the program important enough to want to fund it through the University. The ACE program directors are working to replace the Lumina grant funds through funding from various offices, including the Dean of Students office, the President's office, the IU Foundation and the IU Real Estate program, Smith said. \n"Nobody was caught by surprise by the end of this grant," Smith said. "We have known it was coming, and there are a lot of bright, well-intentioned people out there working to put together the resources to fund the program"
(02/14/06 5:06am)
Volunteering has been a part of junior Megan Moore's life since high school. So when freshman adviser Joelene Bergonzi urged her to try "Beyond the Sample Gates," a service learning seminar in the Leadership, Ethics and Social Action Department, she did not hesitate. \n"I think that it is important to be proactive, to help out in your community or any place that you feel personally tied to," Moore said. "That is how communities grow." \nThe Leadership, Ethics and Social Action Department was the brainchild of a small group of faculty and staff from the College of Arts and Sciences who met regularly during the 2001-2002 school year to create the program, Bergonzi said. The introductory class "Beyond the Sample Gates" was offered in the fall of 2002. \nThe final class in the program, the Capstone Project and Seminar, requires students to craft their own semester-long project that responds to a community need. Students interview community members and do research to find out how they can best use their skills to create positive social change, Bergonzi said. \n"Our motto is really 'let knowledge serve the community,'" Bergonzi said. "Students use their areas of expertise to help meet a community need. It helps both deepen their learning and challenges them." \nMoore chose to get involved with the Franklin Project, a task force made up of juvenile focus groups that address the reasons behind student drop-out rates, she said. She helped organize meetings and does research to address the drop-out rate in Monroe County. \n"I want to be a juvenile judge someday," Moore said. "Working with the Franklin Project fit really well because trouble with the law is often a reason that students leave school." \nCurrently, students can only earn a minor in the Leadership, Ethics and Social Action Department. However, in the future the department may be expanded to include a certificate or major program, Bergonzi said. Students have already requested a major program, but at the moment those interested must pursue it through the Individualized Major Program. \n"In its first two years, the program grew astronomically," Bergonzi said. "We started with two people in the Capstone class, and now we have about 20. There are probably about 100 people pursuing the minor right now." \nThe program is open to any student and a wide range of majors, from business to biology, are involved, Bergonzi said.\nMoore said the program can benefit any major. \n"It is more than just volunteering," she said. "It is about cultivating interpersonal relations and learning about real working dynamics. You have to wake up and see the real world." \nStudents can choose from a number of ways to get involved in the community. They can write an informational brochure, write letters for a cause or sponsor an educational event, Bergonzi said. The project allows for individual initiative, but advisers can help make the connections to appropriate community partners.\n"Few people understand how much they will be changed by the program," Bergonzi said. "It really is a reciprocal partnership. When you engage in that kind of relationship, both sides are changed." \nStudents interested in pursuing a Leadership, Ethics and Social Action minor must apply to the program by the end of sophomore year, Bergonzi said. An information meeting will be held Feb. 22. \nAccording to the program's Web site, www.indiana.edu/~lesa/, applications must be submitted by the spring of the student's sophomore year. \nThough Moore completed her Capstone seminar project last semester, she continues to work with the Franklin Project as part of a one-credit hour independent study. \n"I wanted to stay and see the project to fruition," Moore said. "It is an ongoing process to see that the drop-out rate is lower and stays lower. Hopefully, I will eventually pass along my binders to another student when I move on"
(02/09/06 6:47am)
From posters of bloody aborted fetuses to anti-war chanting, protest beneath the Sample Gates is nothing out of the ordinary. \nThe Sample Gates, located at Kirkwood and Indiana avenues, are a symbolic entry to IU, said Joelene Bergonzi, professor in the Leadership, Ethics and Social Action department. They serve as a boundary between the University and downtown. \n"You always see pictures of the Sample Gates in brochures and pictures of the campus," Bergonzi said. "People choose it (to protest) because it is such a symbolic area and also visible by cars driving by and people walking in and out." \nConstructed of Indiana limestone, the Sample Gates mark the entrance to the Old Crescent, the site of some of the oldest buildings on campus, according to www.iub.edu. Eight of the original buildings in the Old Crescent have since been entered in the Indiana Register of Historic Places. \n"For generations, the Old Crescent has been a place of inspiration for the achievements of the mind reflecting the ideals and aspirations representing in the motto of Indiana University, Lux et Veritas, Light and Truth," reads a plaque adorning the gates. \nThe gates were funded by Edson W. Sample, who held a number of different IU positions, \nincluding president of the Midwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators in 1969, according to the groups Web site, www.masfaaweb.org. The Sample Gates are dedicated to Sample's parents, Louise Waite Sample and Kimsey Ownbey Sample Sr. \nThe gates also play a role in school spirit at IU. Since 1991, the Homecoming parade has ended at the Sample Gates, according to Sondra Inman, director of student programs.\n"The Sample Gates are an entrance into campus, the perfect place to bring students, alumni and friends of the university together," Inman said. "It is a beautiful backdrop for the pep rally"