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(12/12/08 4:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>More women are giving it “the old college try.”Women are making educational gains at a faster rate compared to men, said Rachel Justis, a research analyst at the Indiana Business Research Center at the Kelley School of Business.More women in Indiana – and the rest of the country – are working and advancing their careers, Justis said.“This isn’t to say that fewer men are getting degrees,” she said.Justis looked at information about college degrees in the 2007 American Communities Survey, published by the U.S. Census Bureau, and found more women younger than 45 years old are obtaining at least a bachelor’s degree both in Indiana and the country as a whole.“I guess I feel women are just becoming more independent,” junior Kelee Grinager said.Grinager said it doesn’t surprise her that more women than men are earning degrees because more people in general are earning degrees.Today, Grinager said, society is changing, with women deciding to follow a career and men deciding to stay home with the children. She said a woman doesn’t know what her future will be like, whether she will get married or stay single, so more might be getting degrees to create opportunities. “I think it’s important that people have the option to go out into the workforce if they want to,” said senior Kelsey Botne.In Indiana, in the 25- to 30-year-old population, 28.1 percent of women have college degrees compared to 23.4 percent of men, according to the study. At 35- to 44- years old, it’s 25.7 percent of women compared to 22.8 percent of men. At 45 years and older, the numbers change, with more men earning degrees.Justis said nationally the gender gap was greatest in the early 1940s and 1950s, but by the 1980s the numbers had evened out. Since then, degree-earning women have been outnumbering men, she said.Indiana lags behind the national average college education rate because it’s a manufacturing-based economy with well-paying jobs that don’t require a degree, Justis said.Justis said it will be interesting to look at salaries and wages for women in the future.“There is still a persistent wage gap,” she said.Botne said she wondered how more women earning degrees will affect the number of women in higher positions, such as CEOs. She said people always talk about how there’s a glass ceiling for positions, where women work their way up and can’t advance their careers anymore.“I don’t think anything can be successful if the same type of person runs everything,” Botne said.Justis said she is puzzled about why men – though not earning fewer degrees – are not earning more.“That is kind of the lingering question,” she said.
(12/11/08 5:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Last week, students had to buy Adobe products for hundreds of dollars. Now, they’re free.The University entered into a three-year “Education Enterprise License Agreement” in November which allows students, staff, professors and professors emeritus to download Adobe software from www.iuware.iu.edu, according to the IU Knowledge Base Web site.The software was made available and announced on Oncourse on Wednesday.Representatives from University Information Technology Services and Adobe were unavailable Wednesday to discuss terms of the agreement.Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium and Adobe CS4 Production premium software packages – previously available for the student price of $359.98 at the Computer Connection in the Indiana Memorial Union and for $1,799 and $1,699, respectively, on Adobe’s Web site – are now free.Both packages contain several programs to produce and manage graphic and multimedia projects.Senior Brittany Skwierczynski already had Creative Suite 3, but she said pretty soon the whole campus will update. She uses Adobe for designing purposes and said it’s easier to update on and off campus if she has the most recent version.Skwierczynski said it seems like they come out with a new version every year.“It’s going to happen that way,” Skwierczynski said.The IU Knowledge Base Web site also says the software license expires when students, faculty and staff leave the University, and they must delete it then.But some students already spent a lot of money on the software.Senior Trevor Gerring said it was “unfair” because it wasn’t advertised. He bought some Adobe products last month with a student discount in the Union. He uses the software for Web and print design.He said if he’d known it would be available, he would have waited.Many other students are excited about the announcement.Junior Becca Murrow said she uses Photoshop for her apparel merchandising classes.“I saw that you can download it for free, so I probably will,” she said.Before, Murrow said she just went to the library to work on projects.She said she wouldn’t have bought it without the discount.“I don’t use it enough that it’s worth it,” Murrow said.Freshman Cristina Talucci said she was going to download it as soon as she could.“I tried to download it this morning, but it kept telling me there is no service,” Talucci said.She said she’d use the software to edit photos.Junior Jessica Beckner said she didn’t know about IU’s offer until Wednesday afternoon. After she looked up the software, she said she wasn’t sure what some of it was.“I don’t know what Cold Fusion is,” Beckner said.She said she was a little concerned because Adobe could lose money when students take the software and transfer it to other people’s computers.Beckner also said she was thankful she got a new computer because her old one wouldn’t have been able to support the software.Even though she would have little school use for it, she said she would download the software, just for fun.“I’m a history major,” Beckner said. “I have to entertain myself somehow.”
(12/05/08 4:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU law school will be renamed to the Michael Maurer School of Law after a man who is giving a $35 million dollar gift to go toward scholarships.Michael Maurer is a 1967 IU law school alumnus who, along with his wife Janie, gave the gift.The amount will be matched by IU’s Matching the Promise campaign, essentially doubling the contribution, IU President Michael McRobbie said.Michael Maurer served as a lawyer and businessman in the media field, as well as other ventures. It is the largest gift to the law school by a single donor, McRobbie said, stressing that this type of selfless giving has made the United States’ education system the best in the world.McRobbie also said the gift, as well as other generous giving, ensures IU’s relentless drive for research and scholarship despite the hard economic times.“At Indiana, I learned how to think,” Maurer said in a press conference. He said what he learned at the law school helped him in his life’s success. He said as soon as he was able, he’d give back.“In full confidence, we make this gift in the leadership of Dean Robel,” he said.The money will go toward scholarships to attract the “very, very best” students to the school, said Lauren Robel, the school’s dean. She said there was a holistic approach to finding those students. She also said the scholarships would be available by application and recruitment.Robel said she was thrilled by Maurer’s moral and philanthropic example. Maurer said the students at the school now are great, but to be “the” public law school, the school needs to have a higher median LSAT score. The way to do that, he said, was to attract students through scholarships. Law student Larry Hagerman said the gift will affect future students, current students and alumni. Future students can get the scholarships, and alumni and current students will add value to their degree because of the expected increase in the school’s reputation the gift will bring. It might also encourage other alumni to give to the school, Hagerman said.He said he was grateful for the example the gift sets. It shows alumni out there are looking out for them, he said.“It all works together,” Hagerman said.
(12/04/08 5:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After years of serving students at IU as associate director of Residence Life, Thomas Hennessy died Nov. 27 at 82 years old.From the early 1960s until 1992, he worked with Residence Life, a precursor to Residential Programs and Services, at times serving as acting director.Some described “Dr. Tom” as a man who loved his family, his Irish heritage, football, students and God, said Nancy Lorenz, who was a student in the 1970s and is now a development officer with Residential Programs and Services.Hennessy also served as adviser to the Residence Hall Association, the student voice for the residence halls.He strongly believed an institution should honor student voices, said Sarah Nagy, associate director for student involvement and orientation at RPS.He was an “active adviser,” staying at weekly RHA presidential council meetings until 2 a.m. and then going to work the next morning, Lorenz said.She said he was always there for students, and he’d show students how to get through the red tape of the University, as well as the local and federal government to bring their ideas to life. He’d never say an idea was stupid, but he didn’t do students’ projects for them, Lorenz said.Senior Eric Gibson, president of the RHA, said without Hennessy’s level of involvement, there would be little student voice within the residence halls. Gibson said Hennessy influenced many people who were successful in life, and that’s what keeps him going in RHA.“The last thing you want to do is let those people down,” Gibson said.Hennessy was an advocate for students and believed in their rights, Nagy said.The ’60s and ’70s were a time of big change in the University – student rights and freedoms were expanding.Lorenz said the University acted in the place of parents, with curfews for women. Men, even fathers, weren’t allowed on women’s floors, Lorenz said. She said the thinking was if the women were in at night, the men would be, too. Also, resident assistants were allowed to enter rooms without cause.During his time at IU, all these rules fell by the wayside, with a greater emphasis on legal rights for students, she said. There were also experimental classes and business opportunities for students within the residence halls.“The bottom line was students wanted to be involved in their education and residence hall,” Lorenz said.He advised students who wanted to set up stores in the residence halls to sell everything from Coca-Cola to cigarettes. He also advised the students who set up RHA Student Services, where students rented fans, fridges, combination microwave-fridges and lofts, Lorenz said.Hennessy’s concern for students continued well after his retirement.Nagy wasn’t a student with him, but he’d visit regularly until his health became too poor. She said he was always interested in what students were doing as well as unobtrusively making sure she had their interests at heart.He was instrumental in the RHA Alumni Association, where former residence hall leaders could keep in touch.John Hobson, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the IU Alumni Association, was an active student leader in his residence hall in the late ’60s. He’d meet with Hennessy to discuss finances. Hobson said he would even see Hennessy at IU football games. Hennessy was a season ticket holder.“Tom,” Hobson said, “just touched a lot of student lives while at Residence Life here at IU.”
(12/02/08 4:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Starting today, students can cast their votes for 16 Union Board directors who will control about $360,000 in student fees.The Union Board election is campus-wide, and all students are encouraged to run, said senior Rachael Tunick, Union Board’s vice president for membership.Students can vote from 5 p.m. today until 5 p.m. Wednesday online at http://ub.indiana.edu. The election chooses the top eight candidates. Eight more are chosen through interviews with Union Board executives, the student body president, the Residence Hall Association president and other campus organizations’ leaders and advisors.Tunick said more people are running than in the past, with 31 candidates this year. Last year, she said, the number was in the low 20s. “Our goal is to be as representative of the student body as possible,” Tunick said. She attributed the increase to the efforts of the Union Board this year to reach out to different student organizations.The outreach director position was created at the beginning of the year to connect with campus organizations that don’t traditionally do a lot of programs with the Union Board, said the Union Board’s Outreach Director, and junior Jessica Englert.Union Board President senior Liz Retana said she believes organizations don’t know they have the opportunity to work with the Union Board.Englert also said the Union Board set out to eliminate misconceptions that Union Board doesn’t work a lot with other student organizations.“We really don’t want to just give out money,” she said. She said Union Board created programs and cited, as an example, efforts with La Casa to plan a graduate/undergraduate student mentorship event. The Union Board had the resources to schedule a room and advertise, Englert said. “Reaching out to different populations opened those populations’ eyes,” Englert said.Tunick said a good application for Union Board director has to have what students want and need at heart, not the applicant’s personal ambitions. She said as an example, bringing bands students want to see, not bands the Union Board members themselves enjoys.They also need to stay organized and balance work and school well, she said. Tunick also said directors need to be open and honest with fellow directors, team members and others about their plans and ideas.She said those applying genuinely have an interest in the Union Board. She said those she knows personally think the Union Board has a lot of potential.Luke Fields, IU Student Association president, will help select eight of the Union Board directors. He said he will look for a director who understands that the Indiana Memorial Union is a place for students and by students. Englert said there is a mix between those with a strong history with the Union Board and new faces running in the election. She said it is good because there needs to be people who know how the Union Board works and people with different perspectives.“I think every organization needs that,” she said.
(11/20/08 4:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The recommendation to rename the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center is being tabled for now after one trustee objected to the compromise on Tuesday.Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Terry Clapacs presented a proposal to the IU Trustees Facilities Committee to rename the intramural center the William L. Garrett/Ora L. Wildermuth Fieldhouse. After some deliberation, board of trustees Vice President Patrick Shoulders suggested the Student Recreational Sports Center be named for Garrett, while keeping Wildermuth’s name on the intramural center.There has been discussion within the All University Committee on Names about changing the name since a former Indiana Daily Student columnist reported a year and a half ago about letters Wildermuth wrote advocating segregation.Wildermuth was a founding citizen of Gary, a judge, a school teacher and an IU trustee from 1925 to 1952 – head of the trustees from 1938 to 1949.Garrett was the first black IU basketball player who broke the Big Ten’s “gentlemen’s agreement,” which barred black players from playing.Shoulders said in an interview that Wildermuth, while having “horribly wrong” views, was just a product of his time.Wildermuth did great things for IU, Shoulders said. He quoted a speech from former IU President Herman B Wells at the naming of the intramural center. Wells praised Wildermuth and said his name should be perpetuated.Shoulders said he’d heard “poetic justice,” “irony” and even “a posthumous slap in the face” used to describe the linking of Garrett’s and Wildermuth’s name. This type of emotional outcry should not be the basis for naming the building, he said. “They shouldn’t be linking the achievements of Garrett to a ‘bigot,’” Shoulders said. Garrett should be honored, and so should Wildermuth, but separately, he said. What to do with the building baring Wildermuth’s name is still up in the air.“We’ll wait and see what (IU) President (Michael) McRobbie asks us to do,” Clapacs said. IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said McRobbie will give the alternative suggestion to the All University Committee on Names for more discussion.The counter-proposal will be brought up in the next names committee meeting, but MacIntyre said he wasn’t sure how long it would take to get the 25-member committee together. Clapacs said the committee doesn’t have regular meetings, instead it gathers together when there is an issue to discuss.When the original decision was announced, Clapacs said the two names together could provide a teaching moment.Tom Graham, along with his daughter Rachael Graham Cody, wrote the book “Getting Open: The Unknown Story of Bill Garrett and the Integration of College Basketball.” Cody first discovered Wildermuth’s letters in the University archives. Graham said the original recommendation was a good one, but it’s a great honor to name the SRSC after Garrett. He said it’s a new building that will be around for a long time.The original proposal also recommended the creation of an annual “signature series” lecture and conference that would focus on Garrett.The main reason he supported the original proposal was because it called for the creation of a plaque and an annual lecture series to educate the public about the two names, Graham said. The lectures were as important as the name change because they made Clapac’s education argument plausible, Graham said.Others disagreed with the original proposal.Bill Tosheff, a 1951 IU graduate, played basketball with Garrett.After the original proposal to have both Garrett’s and Wildermuth’s name share the building’s placard, Tosheff, 82, said the renaming was “bullshit.” It should be named after either Garrett or Wildermuth, but not both, he said. Though he said he liked Shoulders’ idea better than the original proposal, he had another suggestion for how to bring Garrett’s name into the University’s fold.“I still think it should be McCracken Hall with Garrett on the floor,” Tosheff said. “But, hey, something is better than nothing.” Branch McCracken was Garrett’s coach at IU.“As long as it is individualized, I think it’s cool because you can’t have them both on there,” he said. “It’s like pro and con. As long as young people are going into the area where Garrett’s name is going to be, beautiful.”Sports Editor Ryan Gregg contributed to this report
(11/19/08 7:46pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The recommendation to rename the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center is being delayed for now.Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Terry Clapacs presented the proposal from the All University Committee on Names to rename the intramural center to the William L. Garrett/ Ora L. Wildermuth Field House.After some deliberation, Vice President of the Trustees, Patrick Shoulders, suggested the Student Recreational Sports Center be named after Garrett, said IU Spokesman Larry MacIntyre.MacIntyre said Shoulders did not want to see the two names together on the intramural center building.MacIntyre said IU President Michael McRobbie will give the alternative suggestion to the All University Committee on Names for more discussion.The alternate will be passed on in the next meeting, but MacIntyre said he wasn’t sure how long it would take to get the 25-member committee together.
(11/18/08 2:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After 100 years, there is still a struggle to reach students, but there’s hope for the future, IU administrators, School of Education faculty and education students said Monday.They represented the past and the future of education at the School of Education’s 100 year commemoration.Dean Gerardo Gonzalez announced Deborah Meier donated her papers to the Lilly Library. Meier was the founder of the small-school movement, which is the idea behind Bloomington’s Harmony School and the Bloomington New Tech High School.The commemoration featured speeches from several prominent Bloomington figures, including IU President Michael McRobbie, Provost Karen Hanson, IU Trustee Sue Talbot and Mayor Mark Kruzan.It also featured speakers who are the future of education.“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” said senior Danya Greenberg, president of the dean’s advisory council in the School of Education.She credited IU and the School of Education with helping to make her a lifelong learner.She said she’d take the “tools and resources” given to her to change the future and make her students lifelong learners as well.McRobbie stressed the impact of teachers on students’ lives. He also said the school has a great history of reaching long distances – across the state and across the world.But, he said there are still challenges.He said there ware still lapses in math and science education, which he said “without exaggeration put the whole country at risk.”He said everyone looks forward to a century that exceeds this century in education and scholarship.But graduate student Evelyn McCall Hamilton said there is still much to be done. She spoke about social justice in education, saying teachers are losing the war to educate all children. She urged the audience to empower its students.“While it may not be easy, we must remember that nothing worth doing has ever been easy,” she said.Talbot spoke about the “cutting edge” of education at her high school in Bloomington – University High School.The school featured teachers who are closely connected with the University and are interested in research developments. It also featured a diverse student body.“It helped us understand the world around us,” she said.She said it is unfortunate there just isn’t enough money for that type of thing.But Gonzalez stressed how far education has come in the past century, despite its shortcomings.“Today we stand in a modern building with a modern view of education,” Gonzalez said.
(11/13/08 4:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After helping facilitate several deals between IU and universities in South Korea, IU President Michael McRobbie returned Saturday.During his week-long trip, McRobbie and some staff members worked to create opportunities for student exchange.McRobbie also went to Peking University in China to attend a conference to discuss the University’s international strategic plan.Dan Smith, dean of the Kelley School of Business, went on the trip and said he had a number of meetings with the dean of the business school at Sungkyunkwan University. He said they were able to finalize details for several collaborative programs. Dual degrees will be offered at Sungkyunkwan University for undergraduate business, master of business administration and executive master of business administration programs.Korean undergraduate students can spend 60 to 70 hours at Sungkyunkwan University and 64 at IU and get a degree from IU and Sungkyunkwan University. Currently, IU students can’t participate.“Our hope in the long term is that we will send students from the Kelley School,” Smith said.Smith said the IU delegation met with the president and discussed a wider range of opportunities for other IU units.Sungkyunkwan University also partners with the graduate school of business at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dartmouth College and Northwestern University on programs similar to what IU is doing.Dean of the School of Informatics, Bobby Schnabel, also traveled to South Korea. He said he spent three days visiting universities. He made deals for informatics and computer science to have a semester-long student exchange starting fall 2009 and several other academic partnerships with different Korean universities, including Seoul National University.IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said McRobbie believes Asia is an area of the world with growing strategic importance. He said it’s important to be connected with top-tier universities in Asia – especially China, Korea and Japan.Smith said business students need to have a more global orientation because many companies operate on a global scale.MacIntyre said the president of Sungkyunkwan University, Jung-Don Seo, and McRobbie are developing a personal relationship, citing the Sungkyunkwan University’s president coming to IU for McRobbie’s inauguration. “They’re leading by example, if you will,” MacIntyre said.
(11/12/08 5:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A basket of letters filled more and more as students gathered to honor veterans Tuesday. The letters were waiting to be shipped to soldiers abroad, a small token of gratitude toward people who make tremendous sacrifices.The Union Board, IU Veterans Support Services and the Military Veterans’ Club sponsored an event in the Indiana Memorial Union to honor student, faculty and staff veterans.“These guys have seen things most of us never will or never want to, and we owe them gratitude,” said Tyler Coward, assistant director of Union Board’s Outreach Committee.The gathering featured a presentation and food. Organizers estimated more than 100 people came for the three-hour event in the Georgian Room.Coward said the veterans on campus don’t get a lot of recognition, and this was an opportunity to honor them for their sacrifice.Margaret Baechtold, director of the IU’s Veteran Support Services, said this was the first time she could remember an event honoring student veterans.It’s not so long ago that U.S. foreign policy caused conflict on college campuses, said Dean of Students Dick McKaig. Now, there has been an increased discussion about the men and women serving in the armed forces. While some still disagree with U.S. policy, they are generally respectful to those who are called, and McKaig said people look at issues in a new way. “I think it’s really changed the dynamics,” Baechtold said.People who attended could write letters to those serving overseas. “The people I’ve talked to – any little thing that reminds them of home makes their week,” Army 2nd Lt. Chris Arnett said.Arnett and 2nd Lt. Pat Corbett were there with the Army ROTC to show their support.Arnett and Corbett said they haven’t been to Iraq or Afghanistan, but they are going to war zones in the near future.Though Baechtold said she sees 320 students in her office per semester, there’s no exact count of the number of student veterans, and there are many student veterans she doesn’t know about. The veterans she sees visit her office to take advantage of the GI Bill and other services. She said she’s always trying to find those veterans – if there are things her office can do for their education, she’d like to help.There are students in the National Guard serving overseas now postponing classes, McKaig said. Others are going out this spring and summer.“I think it’s just important to support our troops,” Corbett said.
(11/11/08 5:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After more than a year and a half of deliberation and controversy, University officials have recommended the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center add the name of former IU basketball player William L. Garrett.The change to the William L. Garrett/Ora L. Wildermuth Fieldhouse, which juxtaposes the name of a “civil rights hero” with a segregationist’s, still has to go through University trustee approval, said Terry Clapacs, head of the All University Committee on Names and IU’s vice president and chief administrative officer.He said the committee made the recommendation to IU President Michael McRobbie, and McRobbie will present the recommendation to the board of trustees during a facilities committee meeting Nov. 19.The committee also recommended the creation of an annual “signature series” lecture and conference that focuses on what prompted the name change.Garrett came to IU in 1947 and became the first black basketball player in IU history when he suited up for former coach Branch McCracken his sophomore year.What made Garrett distinct, besides being a good player, was his character, said Tom Graham, co-author of a book about Garrett, “Getting Open: The Unknown Story of Bill Garrett and the Integration of College Basketball.” Graham said he was a role model, and this helped make it acceptable for black players in the eyes of coaches.Clapacs also said the committee did not want to remove Wildermuth’s name because they thought it was unfair to take what Wildermuth said decades ago and bring it into today’s light.In April 2007, former Indiana Daily Student columnist Andrew Shaffer, who graduated in 2007, wrote a column urging administration to change the name of the building after reading letters expressing strong segregationist views. The letters were between Wildermuth and former IU President Herman B Wells, as well as letters between Wildermuth and former IU comptroller Ward G. Biddle. “So few of them succeed,” Wildermuth wrote in a 1948 letter to Wells about blacks, “and the average of the race as to intelligence, economic status and industry is so far below the white average that it seems to me futile to build up hope for a great future.”After Shaffer’s column, IU officials reviewed the building’s name. Graham’s daughter and the book’s co-author Rachel Graham Cody, originally uncovered the Wildermuth letters Shaffer used in his articles in University archives.James Garrett, nephew of Bill Garrett and a Shelbyville, Ind., resident, said he is “truly proud and honored” by the name change. He said he first questioned how the University was going to explain the two names. But then he said he thought it could be a teaching experience – the two names connected would create questions and an opportunity to learn. No one is going to change history, James Garrett said, but this is a way to explain history. “We cannot deny the history of this country,” said Edwin Marshall, vice president for diversity, equity, and multicultural affairs and a member of the All University Committee on Names. “Education is about creating opportunities.”He said ignoring history’s various views – even those of Wildermuth – does not help them go away. But some believe the decision is a weak compromise. Shaffer said he was unhappy with the recommendation.“This is totally something IU would do,” Shaffer said Monday. He lamented that IU is doing the most politically correct thing it can, adding it was hard to commend the “safe road.” “I’m happy for Bill Garrett and his legacy,” Shaffer said.Wildermuth was head of the board of trustees from 1938 to 1949, in a time when the campus was slowly becoming desegregated. Wildermuth was an obstacle to that process, Graham said.But Wildermuth was also a founding citizen of Gary, a judge, a school teacher and an IU trustee from 1925 to 1952. He helped bring funds and buildings to IU, including having a large part in building the gymnasium named in his honor, Graham said. The man who helped to integrate IU while Wildermuth fought against it, Wells, was chair of the committee to name the building after Wildermuth. The committee did not want to second guess such an influential IU figure, Clapacs said.“We still trust the judgment of Herman B Wells,” he said.
(11/10/08 9:46pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>University officials will recommend they rename the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center to the William L. Garrett/Ora L. Wildermuth Fieldhouse, an official announced Monday.Bill Garrett was the first black basketball player at IU. Garrett died in 1974 after suffering a heart attack. Terry Clapacs, head of the All University Committee on Names and IU’s vice president and chief administrative officer, said the committee will make the recommendation to the board of trustees. IU President Michael McRobbie will bring the issue before the trustees during a facilities committee meeting on Nov. 19, Clapacs said.The names committee reviewed the center because several letters in which Wildermuth expressed segregationist and racist views were recently publicized.Clapacs said the committee did not want to remove Wildermuth’s name because they thought it was unfair to take what Wildermuth said decades ago and bring it into today’s light. Clapacs added Herman B Wells served on the committee that recommended the naming of the Wildermuth Center, and the committee did not want to second guess such an influential IU figure. “We still trust the judgment of Herman B Wells,” Clapacs said.
(11/10/08 5:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Kara Kendall remembers the tearful goodbyes. She remembers watching a student say goodbye to his dog, a lab mix, when his landlord said he couldn’t keep his furry friend anymore. It was a sad day for the student, the animal and the shelter where Kendall worked. The student relinquished the dog, brought in his collar, toys and food dishes before leaving him.And he’s not the only one.Students relinquishing pets to the animal shelter is a growing problem, said Laurie Ringquist, director of Bloomington’s animal control and care center.The City of Bloomington Animal Shelter takes in 5,000 animals each year, about 500 each month.Ringquist cautioned students to think before buying a pet. “It’s somewhat of an impulse to get a cute puppy or kitten,” she said.Pet lovers should first check with roommates and their landlords, Ringquist said. Make sure the pet can come home at the end of semesters. Make sure there’s enough money for vet visits, shots, food and other costs, and make sure there’s enough time to take care of the animal with homework and activities, she said.Senior Levi Shand picked up a stray cat from a family friend in Nashville, Ind., three years ago as a Christmas present for his girlfriend. He said the brown-and-black striped American tabby kitten with a rust colored belly immediately jumped into his lap. He knew it was the one.When his girlfriend moved away and they ended their relationship, he kept the cat, named Morris.His parents and house mates were fine with it, but there were unexpected costs and problems.“There’s a common expression when people get free animals,” Shand said. “This is the most expensive free animal I’ve ever had.” Morris has allergies, so Shand takes him to a vet every three months for shots costing $20 to $25. Six months after getting him, Morris developed a urinary tract blockage requiring a $250 stint. Then there’s the food, the kitty litter, the routine shots and various other costs.Revitalizing Animal Well-Being (RAW) co-president and graduate student Courtney Wennerstrom said to expect to spend about $1,000 a year on a dog or cat. Most healthy animals will live for 10 to 15 years, making the cost of caring for an animal approximately $10,000. This is more than a year of in-state tuition.But there are other costs – costs that go beyond expensive trips to the vet. Pets also have psychological needs.It’s not enough to just be loving and affectionate toward an animal, Wennerstrom said. Snuggling, hugging and all those things are fine, she said, but they will never be a substitute for spending time outside, taking regular walks and playing.“One thing most students are lacking is time,” Kendall said. And time is the one commodity pets require the most.Pets, especially dogs, require a massive time commitment, and if they don’t get enough attention, they will act out, she said. Puppies, she said, can be compared to babies for the time and attention they require.But there are alternatives to getting a dog, cat or bird. Students tend to gravitate toward dogs, cats and sometimes rabbits instead of smaller pets that would be easier to take care of, such as hamsters, Ringquist said. Wennerstrom suggested students look into rats, which she said are like tiny dogs – intelligent and affectionate – but easier to keep.Ringquist also suggested students volunteer at the shelter to get their animal fix. There is even a foster program that lets student take in an animal for a limited amount of time. RAW also puts on events, especially during finals week, that allow students to play with pets.But, if students really want a pet, they should also take the time to do research on the needs of the type of pet they’re considering, Wennerstrom said.“They are not toys,” she said.
(11/07/08 4:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IT at IU is getting an update.Information technology officials released a report outlining 69 specific outcomes they hope to accomplish in the coming years.“IU begins in a really strong position,” said Brad Wheeler, vice president for information technology and a professor in the Kelley School of Business.The plan aims to build on the success of a 1998 plan, Wheeler said. He added that the plan calls for keeping the technology structure up to date, making technology easier to use and solving big problems involving, among other things, access to information.The plan hopes to organize and streamline technology to make it easier to use. One example is with Oncourse.“What we envision for Oncourse itself is to evolve to meet the needs of students,” said Anastasia Morrone, associate dean for learning technology in the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology.She said examples of what could happen are access to Google Documents and anti-plagiarism software within Oncourse. The goal is to put software together with Oncourse in a more integrated way. “There’s a lot that will be involved,” she said. She encouraged students and other IU community members to look at the report online at http://ovpit.iu.edu/itsp2/ and e-mail suggestions.One directive of the report is to provide easier access to information. The plan hopes to fix problems researchers have because they can’t access electronic journals as easily as they could hard copies in the library, said Frank Acito, associate dean for academic programs at the Kelley School of Business. The plan also hopes to create answers concerning statewide access to patients’ information for medical professionals.The report also brings up solutions to environmental sustainability. Acito said computers use a lot of energy and are toxic waste when they become obsolete, and there is no easy solution.The plan also calls for looking at companies that produce the technology and considering their environmental record, Wheeler said.All 69 points will be assigned to a committee who will come up with solutions and report on how long they will take to implement and how much it will cost, Acito said. Some of the directives will take years, while some can be done quickly, he added.“They may find that some of them are impossible,” he said.He said, because of resources, there’s a need to prioritize. The report doesn’t address the budgetary impact, he said, which is especially important in the current economic crisis. He said there’s a need to prioritize.Some of the money for the projects will come from grants, while the rest has to be allocated from the University as needed, Acito said. He said sometimes it’s just a matter of waiting for technology to become affordable. “The fortunate thing is hardware is getting cheaper and cheaper,” Acito said.
(11/05/08 6:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Monroe County Democrats celebrated the end of a historic election Tuesday night by watching the election results at the county headquarters and at Rachael’s Café on East Third Street.Local Democrats were pleased, but not surprised, by incumbent House representative Baron Hill’s big, early lead against Republican Mike Sodrel.“Baron Hill’s ads were much more effective in every single way,” said Jen Campbell-Allison, a Bloomington resident and “concerned citizen” watching the results at the Democratic headquarters.Her husband, Monroe County recorder Sam Allison, wasn’t surprised by the lead.“Sodrel is tied to Bush in every single way,” he said.Bloomington resident and volunteer for the local Democratic Party, Obie James, said he is unhappy with the governor’s race between Democrat Jill Long Thompson and Republican incumbent Mitch Daniels. Daniels also won early in the night.“For it to be called so early, I’m disappointed,” James said.He said he wondered what would happen if he worked more on local elections.People are busy with their jobs and families, James said, so they have trouble keeping track of the local elections.Election workers and Democratic supporters said early voting and student voting had a big impact on the local elections.Bloomington resident and Democratic volunteer Dana Carpender said she felt the local elections had been neglected in favor of the national election, with money, support and volunteers going to Barack Obama’s campaign.However, the major push to get students to vote for Obama for president has led to record student voting rates, said Moore Don, a local Democratic political strategist. With the increase, he said he hoped students would vote Democratic straight down the ballot because of Obama’s party – a trickle-down effect.Peggy Welch, who ran unopposed for the District 60 state house seat, said some Bloomington residents fear the influence of all the thousands of student voters – many of whom will only stay in Bloomington for a short time.“How will students affect our lives?” Welch asked.Valeri Haughton, who ran for Monroe County judge, seat 6, said she had a good feeling about the election, with many people predicting this year a “Democratic year.”Haughton said if she wins, she’ll probably hear, among several other cases, small claims suits – many of them involving students and their landlords. She said local politicians can have more impact on students’ lives because they create local laws involving tenants and taxes, among other things.She said she campaigned hard, knocking on many doors, but said she hoped people would ride on Obama’s coattails, taking advantage of the trickle-down effect.She said she talked to people on Election Day, and some students knew very little about the local elections.“I heard one woman say, ‘I just want to vote for president,’” she said.
(10/31/08 3:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU President Michael McRobbie leaves today for a trip to South Korea and China.McRobbie, along with several IU faculty and staff members, will spend six days in Korea and two days in China, where they will attend a conference on the globalization of education, according to a press release.IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said the biggest goal of the trip is to create new agreements with institutions in Korea concerning the exchange of professors and students.He said McRobbie believes IU students should have access to Asian culture, as well as opportunities in Asia. He said this is especially important as students move into the 21st century. The trip has several specific goals for those going.Dan Smith, dean of the Kelley School of Business, said the details of a new global master of business administration degree will be finalized during the trip. The degree’s program will involve faculty from the Kelley School and Sungkyun Kwan University.The degree will be aimed at mid-career executives and will be awarded through the Kelley School starting in 2009.McRobbie will also hear a concert from Jacobs School of Music alumni while in Korea. Mira Jang, president of the Korean Student Association, said in an e-mail she hopes the trip creates a better relationship with alumni because they are important for advising students and providing aid. She said most Korean students go back to Korea after graduation, so she hopes the University group will give a good impression to Korean companies.Korea’s economy is bad, Jang said, so she hopes the group notices this and the University provides more scholarships to Korean students.“We will also reconnect with many alumni from Kelley,” Smith said. He said he hopes to update them on what’s going on at IU.MacIntyre said there’s a “fairly strong” alumni base in the region. He said keeping in touch with alumni is one of McRobbie’s major responsibilities, and alumni all around the world still contribute. There are about 1,200 international students from Korea at IU each year, according to a press release.“We’re very pleased we have that kind of support,” MacIntyre said.
(10/29/08 4:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The All University Committee on Names has reached a decision regarding the renaming of the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center, but IU officials are waiting to release their recommendation to the public.Terry Clapacs, head of the committee and vice president for administration and chief administrative officer for IU, said he talked about the committee’s recommendation with IU President Michael McRobbie. He said they will not announce the decision until undisclosed family members are notified. He would not say what family is being contacted, but warned against jumping to conclusions.Clapacs said the decision might be announced today.In an interview Oct. 8 with the IDS, Clapacs said the decision would come within two weeks – or by Oct. 22. On Oct. 22, Clapacs told the Indiana Daily Student that the University would need more time.The building, named after a president of the board of trustees who was a known segregationist, came under fire in April 2007 when IDS columnist Andrew Shaffer brought to light letters between Ora L. Wildermuth and former IU President Herman B Wells, as well as former IU comptroller Ward G. Biddle. In the letters, Wildermuth expressed strong segregationist views.“It’s a very serious matter,” Clapacs said earlier this month.The day the column was published, Adam Herbert, who was IU president at the time, issued a statement saying IU leaders needed to “start a dialogue” about whether to change the name.“I am disappointed, but not surprised, that such views were promulgated by a leading Indiana citizen at that point in history,” Herbert said in the statement.Clapacs said it’s not easy to change a building name.He said there’s concern that once one building’s name is changed it will create a precedent where other building names will become susceptible to change – politicizing IU’s history and traditions.“Who knows what else will come out,” he said about those for whom other buildings are named.IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said that while Wildermuth’s beliefs are not acceptable today, IU’s tradition and history should be weighed very carefully before any change.He also said it was difficult to take what was said about 50 years ago and judge it by today’s standards.However, others disagree.IU alumnus Tom Graham co-wrote the book “Getting Open: The Unknown Story of Bill Garrett and the Integration of College Basketball.” The book is about IU basketball player Bill Garrett breaking the Big Ten’s tacit “gentlemen’s agreement,” which barred black players from competing.While researching the book, he found Wildermuth’s letters in University archives. Wildermuth was on the board of trustees while the campus was slowly becoming desegregated.He said it was ironic the building where Garrett played is named after Wildermuth and suggested that the name of the building should be changed to honor the basketball star. He said he believes many people didn’t have actively racist attitudes – they were segregated out of habit.“It’s simply not true that what Wildermuth was thinking was what everyone thought,” Graham said.
(10/28/08 2:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A little bit of flexibility can stretch your dollar a long way when it
comes to finding the best deal for airline prices this Thanksgiving,
other holidays and school breaks, travel experts say.
Air travel is volatile, said Cassidy Young, a travel agent at the Bloomington branch of Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
“It’s a difficult time right now,” she said.
But it’s still possible to snag a deal.
To get the best deal, students have to shop around, be a little creative and keep an open mind, Young said.
She recommended flying on days people normally don’t think about
travel, such as Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day, depending on how
your family celebrates.
Students must also be willing to wake up for early flights, she said, because those flights can be cheaper.
She also said to look at prices at nearby airports other than
Indianapolis, such as Cincinnati or St. Louis. Different airports might
have better prices – sometimes saving a traveler hundreds of dollars –
if a student is willing to go a little out of his or her way.
Tom Parsons, chief executive of the fare comparison Web site BestFares.com, agrees.
“Is it worth it for your mom and dad to pick you up and drive you 50 miles? That’s what it boils down to,” he said.
For this Thanksgiving, Parsons said, all flyers should avoid the Sunday following the holiday.
George Hobica, creator of Airfarewatchdog.com, said prices on that
Sunday can be more than twice as much than if a traveler came back on
the Saturday or Monday.
He also recommended booking flights two months in advance for
Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring break. The longer someone waits, the
fewer options they have, said Patrick Evans, marketing communications
coordinator for discount travel site STA Travel.
Young recommended booking flights for busy travel seasons at least three months in advance.
Where students get their deals makes a difference, too.
Airlines negotiate with Web sites such as StudentUniverse.com and STAtravel.com to provide special deals just for students.
STA Travel, a company started in Australia in 1979, sells airlines’
extra seats to students who purchase a $25 international student card.
StudentUniverse.com also works with airline companies to provide
faculty and students – and only faculty and students – with lower
airfare, according to the company’s Web site.
There’s more domestic travel around holidays, Evans said, but a lot of their business is geared toward international markets.
Young said many of the student-oriented sites offer better deals when
students book flights, hotels and related expenses together in a
package.
While Web sites can be helpful, so can going to a travel agent and
talking in person to an experienced agent who finds deals for travelers.
“That’s why we’re in this business,” Young said. “We all like to shop.”
It’s also possible to go straight to the airline’s Web site. Discount
carrier Southwest Airlines doesn’t normally work with travel sites, but
still offers deals on its own Web site, Hobica said.
Sometimes, though, a good deal just depends on luck.
Recently, a round trip flight from the United States to Belize was
offered for less than $200, Parsons said. The price quickly disappeared.
“You snooze, you lose,” Parsons said.
(10/27/08 3:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A decision could come today about recommending a name change for the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center, said Terry Clapacs, head of the All University Committee on Names.Clapacs, who is also vice president and chief administration officer for IU, said the decision could come if committee members decide they don’t need more time to do research and evaluation.The building – named after a president of the board of trustees who was a known segregationist – came under fire in April 2007 when Indiana Daily Student columnist Andrew Shaffer brought to light letters between Ora L. Wildermuth and former IU President Herman B Wells, as well as former IU comptroller Ward G. Biddle.In the letters, Wildermuth expressed strong segregationist views. Clapacs said he’s concerned that once a building is renamed, it will set a precedent to politicize the naming and renaming of other IU buildings.Clapacs said it’s difficult to judge what was written 50 years ago against today’s standards, so committee members need time to consider the change.In an Oct. 8 interview, Clapacs said the decision would come within two weeks, which was last Wednesday. On Wednesday, Clapacs said University officials would need at least until today to discuss the name change further.
(10/27/08 2:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU seniors Luke Fields and Sara Stombaugh were named Homecoming king and queen Saturday at the Homecoming football game.The announcement was supposed to be made at the pep rally Friday, but the rally was canceled due to rain. Stombaugh said she was disappointed she didn’t get to go to the pep rally, saying she wished she could have met the other members of the court. The members met at a luncheon before the game, but Stombaugh said she wished they all could have gotten to know each other better.But she said she enjoyed the honor of being named the queen. After the announcement, people were shouting her and Fields’ names.“It was all surreal,” Stombaugh said. Fields said it was quite an honor to be named – he said he never thought he’d be “that guy.” But, he added, that’s what’s great about IU. He said he’s constantly amazed by the opportunities and new experiences at the University.He said the king and queen contest was a way to recognize seniors who gave back to the University. It isn’t exactly based on popularity.To be eligible to win, the king and queen must be seniors with GPAs above a 3.0. According to the contest application, the Homecoming court, consisting of five men and five women, are selected and judged on campus involvement, leadership qualities, scholarship, personality and poise.Fields said with so many strong candidates, the contest is a testament to the current senior class. Stombaugh is the president of the IU Panhellenic Association, member of the Student Activities Ethics Board and a member of Campus Crusade for Christ. Fields is the president of the IU Student Association and former vice president of Residence Hall Association. He also owns his own small business.Both king and queen said their parents came to the game and took them out to eat. Fields’ roommate Dan Sloat, who is vice president of IUSA, was also on the Homecoming court.He said he wondered if there had ever been roommates who were on the court together. Though he wasn’t crowned king, he is still proud of Fields.“It was definitely an honor to be recognized among all those student leaders,” Sloat said.