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(10/20/06 3:21am)
Zhiyuan Cong, professor of art at William Paterson University, will lead a lecture and demonstration about calligraphy, the art of ornate writing, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Thomas T. Solley Atrium in the IU Art Museum. The event is free and open to the public. \nJudy Stubbs, the Pamela Buell Curator of Asian Art, said Cong's visit is part of the museum's ongoing Chinese art exhibit. Cong, who graduated from IU in 1994 with a degree in printmaking, was also an instructor at IU from 1989 until 1994 while he earned his master's of fine arts degree.\nHis paintings and prints combine traditional Chinese techniques with Western elements, according to the event's press release. \nThe program will be part of the museum's exhibition "Conspiring with Tradition: Contemporary Painting from the Guilin Chinese Painting Academy." The exhibition, which opened to the public Sept. 30, will end Dec. 17.\nCong will be lecturing for about an hour Saturday, followed by an approximately hour--long demonstration in Chinese painting and calligraphy.
(10/19/06 3:24am)
IU professor of Jewish studies and English Alvin Rosenfeld knows what Israel looks like during times of peace. Over the summer, Rosenfeld got to witness what he described as looking like a distant hope for the country.\n"I was in Israel three weeks this summer just before the war broke out," he said. "At the time, everything in Israel looked calm and prosperous and peaceful.\n"What looked to me ... a normal scene quickly became abnormal," he said. "The Middle East is a turmoil region ... no one knows when violence will break out."\nRosenfeld was one of many in Woodburn Hall Tuesday evening where a diverse group of people -- including students, faculty and Bloomington residents -- listened to a panel discussion regarding the present day conflict involving Lebanon and Israel, the peacekeeping efforts in the region and possible solutions to the dispute. Associate Dean of Faculties Michael Hamburger said the purpose of the discussion was to try to unravel the history to explore possible solutions that could lead to peace in the region. \nThe four panelists -- political science professor Iliya Harik, assistant professor of political science and Middle Eastern studies Abdulkader Sinno, religious studies associate professor Shaul Magid and history professor and Director of the Center for Eighteenth-Century Studies Dror Wahrman came together to offer historical insight and scholarly input on what they believe is happening in the two countries.\nHamburger asked audience members to be respectful of the different viewpoints presented and to realize strong emotions exist on all sides.\nEach panelist was given a 10-minute time frame to make his point. Sinno began by explaining he felt the war resulted from the miscalculations of both Hezbollah and Israeli leaders and their narrow domestic goals. He said Hezbollah hoped for an easy victory to raise its profile in Lebanese politics, while the Israeli government thought it could quickly defeat Hezbollah or force the Lebanese government to do it by devastating the country. Both were wrong, and the result was a brutal war that achieved little for either party and caused the destruction of the Lebanese economy and infrastructure, Sinno said.\nWahrman discussed the importance of Israel finally agreeing to an international force to provide its security.\n"This decision, as contingent and unthought-out as most of the current Israeli's government actions -- now opens the door for a new kind of international involvement also in Palestine, which may be key to a future resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Wahrman said.\nMagid's approach to the discussion reflected his feelings that all parties in the region seem to want, need or occupy the position of the victim.\n"Each side is right, and each side is very, very wrong," he said. "All parties here have been instigators of violence, and all have been victims of violence."\nFreshman Nathan Bower-Bir said he came to the discussion because he was genuinely interested in the topic and because he is considering a political science major and wanted to see what it was about. He said he also recognized how important the topic is for both Isreal and Lebanon. \nSenior Kimberly Ventresca said she came because she knew the professors and wanted to see the dual perspectives.\nWhen it comes to the present-day situation, Ventresca said the conflict only radicalizes both Israel and Lebanon.\n"The lack of mediation and positive progress is making the cultural and political views on either side digress to the point where they have to choose security or insecurity," she said. "The escalation in the last conflict, especially the Hezbollah, sent weapons deeper into Israel then ever before."\nHaving attended the discussion to listen to the four panelists give a 10-minute presentation, Rosenfeld said he felt the speakers showed different interpretations on the matter.\n"People understand the situation differently," he said. "Understanding the war differently is a great deal, and their speculation about possible solutions struck me as being at odds."\nRosenfeld said the most one can hope for in the Middle East at the moment is bringing a measure of calm to the overheated region.\n"I don't think peace is about to break out tomorrow or next year," he said. "Everybody would like peace, but no one knows how to achieve the peace"
(10/19/06 3:08am)
Diane Kondrat would not tell you to walk, jog, skip or hop to see a performance and show by Nell Weatherwax. Instead, she recommends you run.\n"If someone has never seen one of her performances, my advice is to run to see it because Weatherwax's artistic quality is top of the line," said Kondrat, a longtime friend of Weatherwax.\nThe opportunity to see a show of Weatherwax's is at a prime, as she will perform at a fundraiser for the Bloomington Playwrights Project at 8 p.m. this Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $12 for students and seniors. No reservation is required. \nHer show "Boomer" is an improvised autobiographical movement theater performance. \n"I combine movement, sound and words to bring to life experiences from my past and present as one of the last baby boomers," Weatherwax said. "Each performance has had strong elements of humor, pathos and personal story that are carried by my extremely physical, expressive style of delivery."\nWeatherwax, who has done solo impromptu theater since 2003, said she hopes people come away from her shows feeling completely blown away by the fact that she's improvising every second on stage.\n"Everything I say is true," she said. "I am 100 percent committed to each and every moment of each and every expression on the stage."\nKondrat toured the state with Weatherwax, using theater to educate students and prisoners about HIV/AIDS. While on the tour, she watched the audience watch Weatherwax.\n"Nell has a way of using specific details from her life and associating them in unexpected ways," Kondrat said. "I've heard her literally make audiences gasp with surprise and recognition."\nWeatherwax's show this weekend will help raise funds for the Bloomington Playwrights Project, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to furthering original plays and theater.\n"The BPP represents to me one of the great cultural resources in the U.S.," Weatherwax said. "Theater is one of the last havens for unfettered free speech."\nWeatherwax, who said she did a great deal of work in her early 20s at the playwright's project, is very grateful for all the performance opportunities it gave her.\nThe first improv show she did with the groups was in the fall of 2003. \n"It was (set in) a dark alley, and it was both the most terrified I have ever been and then the most fun I have ever had on stage in my life," Weatherwax said.\nHaving fallen in love with theater while performing in high school plays, Weatherwax said she later fell in love with physical theater and mime in the 80s when she saw the Boulder Mime Theater. \nA 1988 IU graduate , Weatherwax created her own major in Movement Theater through the Individualized Major Program. \n"I needed to be able to study physical theater and keep performing, and IU didn't offer a major in mime," she said.\nWhat Weatherwax said she likes most about performing is working in a setting in which she has total reign over the experience of imagination and memory.\n"In my improvised show, I can be as totally expressive as my heart desires," Weatherwax said. "Early on, I learned to be very, very intense and stay connected to the audience. We go on a ride together into my specific stories."\nThat is exactly what Weatherwax said she plans to do this weekend with her show "Boomer".\nWeatherwax themed the show "Boomer" because while in a locker room at a gym, she thought she heard a woman ask her to do her a favor. Replying with, "Sure, what do you need?" she then realized as the woman turned around that she had been talking on her cell phone and not to Weatherwax. \n"I realized I had a Baby Boomer moment a la 'dork-style,' so I thought it would be fun to call the show 'Boomer' in honor of the side of me that is one of the last baby boomers," she said.\nKondrat said if audiences members take away one thing from Weatherwax's performances, it is "a sense of the integration between suffering, growth and humor."\n"She works through paradox," Kondrat said. "Things seem not to match, but then, as if by magic, she creates complete sense out of them"
(10/18/06 4:13am)
Standing in the Dogwood Room in the Indiana Memorial Union, Indiana State Treasurer Tim Berry began his presentation Monday night by asking the IU College Republicans in the audience a question. \n"Why are you here?" Berry asked.\nFrom one of the seats someone answered, "Because I want to know what the state auditor does!"\nLaughter circled the room before Berry responded. \n"You're probably the only person in Indiana that wants to know," he joked.\nBerry spoke to the group to help encourage the students to vote in the upcoming Nov. 7 election, in which he is running for state auditor against Democrat Judy Anderson, who has held various county positions in Vigo County.\nBringing absentee ballots, Berry spoke to the members about how important it was to be politically involved. \n"Trust me, you really can make a difference," he said. "When I was in college, this was not the first thing on my mind -- being politically involved, that is."\nHe continued to say this election is especially important in moving the economy of Indiana forward. He also explained why this year's election is important to the College Republicans.\n"We now have a government willing to lead," he said. "(That's) why this year's election is so important," he said. \nBerry said teamwork and cooperation are essential to work on economic and campaign issues. \n"This year's election depends on turnout because it's an off-year election and the polls are down compared to the presidential election years," he said.\nBerry said the Republicans will win if they identify what people want and get back to grassroots politics and the importance it holds. \n"We have three weeks and lot of work to do. Thank you for being involved in the process and wanting to make a difference," Berry said. "Your efforts are appreciated and important and can determine whether we move forward or not"
(10/16/06 2:34am)
Middle Way House received two grants totaling about $800,000 Thursday to help the organization move forward in developing independence.\nThe organization, which has the mission to end violence in the lives of women and children, plans to use the grant money for several different projects.\nSome of the grant money will go toward the New Wings Development Project, which Middle Way House Executive Director Toby Strout said is "designed to achieve independence for the agency and to provide more opportunities for women and children." \nGrant money will also go toward turning the old Coca-Cola bottling plant, 318 S. Washington St., into Middle Way's new residency along with consolidating its Food Works kitchens to one location.\nFood Works is a full-service catering business Middle Way owns and operates that strives to provide nutritional food care to children and caterers in the community.\nThe Federal Home Loan Bank, through its affordable housing program, awarded $500,000 to the organization, Strout said. She said this money will contribute to replacing the emergency shelter to construct a new one, in addition to creating six units of affordable housing near the new emergency shelter.\nFifth Third Bank sponsored Middle Way's application.\nThe U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded the grant of about $280,000. Approximately $133,000 will go toward supporting the consolidation of the two Food Works kitchens into one kitchen at the old Coca-Cola plant. \nMiddle Way Food Works is also working with a group of organizations in the community to create a secure food system, Strout said.\nLocal growers will be able to sell their produce to Middle Way. The kitchen will also allow local entrepreneurs to use it for their own projects. \nThe Local Growers Guild, Bloomingfoods, Mother Hubbard's Cupboard, the city of Bloomington, Hoosier Hills Food Bank, Center for Sustainable Living, Monroe County Extension Service and SEED Corporation are among the nine participants in developing the community food project for Food Works and the grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. \nAs Strout mentioned, the new Food Works will also help provide jobs to the women in the shelter.\n"Having this kitchen is an expanded opportunity," she said.\nSince Middle Way's inception, the agency has strived to create meaningful alternatives to those who live with violence, and the New Wings Development Project is crucial to Middle Way's mission, according to a Middle Way House news release.\n"The cost associated with making a temporary facility appropriate to the needs of abused women is so high, it is not worth contemplating, especially as the space available in the current shelter is inadequate to meet the demand," Strout said in the news release.\nIn the end, Strout said the overall goal is always to build independence. Middle Way has always made this a goal in respect to its clients by encouraging them to use their strengths to become independent, she said.\nWhile the needs of developing independence in clients are met, Middle Way moves toward that goal itself. \nMiddle Way has relied on government grants to help, but Strout said there is too much fluctuation in the amount received from such grants, and it is not always safe to rely on money from the government because of the fickleness of politics. \nStrout said Middle Way continues to apply for these government grants, but it hopes to turn away from that form of funding.
(10/13/06 3:15am)
Madison, Ind., is "where the past is always present," boasts the town's motto. \nAnd on Saturday, about 45 IU students will embark on an 80-mile journey to Madison to see just what Indiana's largest historic district has in store.\nStudents will leave by bus at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and return around 5:30 p.m. the same day.\nThe trip, sponsored by the Leo R. Dowling International Center and La Casa Latino Cultural Center, invites students to experience American lifestyles in the third annual event.\n"The purpose is a collaborative effort between the culture centers so the students we serve have an opportunity to interact together," said Sandy Britton, one of the coordinators of this event and international services coordinator for the international center. "The international students really like it."\nLillian Casillas, director of La Casa, is also coordinating the event. \nStudents will have the chance to tour older houses in the district, which includes architecture that dates back to the 19th century, along with lots of antique shopping and eating at the various restaurants.\nDuring the day, Madison will hold the annual Hunter's Moon Celebration and Octoberfest.\nTrolley tours will also be available for students, as will walks along the riverfront, which represent Madison's part in the steamboat era.\n"The biggest reward for the students is that they really appreciate seeing what U.S. life is like," Britton said. "(In the past) they have really enjoyed this event. ... It allows them to become in touch with American history"
(10/12/06 3:52am)
It costs $50,000 to sponsor a house through Habitat for Humanity in Monroe County. And to co-sponsor a house, it's still $25,000. \nThis year, IU's Habitat for Humanity hopes to raise enough money to co-sponsor a house, which the organization has never done before. \nIU Habitat for Humanity President Dave Doyle, a senior, said he hopes the inaugural Bucket 100 Bike Tour will help the organization achieve its lofty goal.\nThe group will host a call-out at 7 p.m. today in Jordan Hall, room 124, for interested bikers to learn more about the Bucket 100 Bike Tour. \nThe Bucket 100 is a joint venture with Purdue's Habitat for Humanity group, and the ride route will include both universities. At 10 a.m. Nov. 17, bikers will leave IU's Memorial Stadium and bike toward Ross-Ade Stadium at Purdue, arriving during the Oaken Bucket game Nov. 18.\nDoyle said this is not a race between the riders but rather a race between the two Habitat chapters to see who can raise the most money.\n"I would encourage people who are active riders and comfortable with the distance to participate," Doyle said. Purdue and IU are responsible for recruiting their own riders.\nThe registration fee is $40 per rider, and riders are required to fundraise a minimum of $150 to help build a home in each respective community, according to the Habitat Web site. \nDoyle said riders will go about 84 miles before stopping Friday and will continue another 38 miles to Purdue on Saturday. Doyle said there will be food, water and support along the path. Towns along the path, such as Paragon, Little Point and North Salem, will be notified, so bikers can stop to get drinks. Crawfordsville is the overnight rest stop between Friday and Saturday. \nBut right now, everything is still a work in progress, and IU Habitat for Humanity is focusing on recruiting riders, Doyle said. \nIU sophomore Emily Clarke, who is training for Little 500, is geared up and ready to ride for the Bucket 100.\n"It's great practice, and it's going toward a great cause," she said. \nClarke found out about the event from friends who are in Habitat for Humanity and became interested after attending the group's first call-out meeting.\nUntil November, Doyle hopes word of mouth and advertising will get the word to interested bikers and volunteers. More information is also available on IU Habitat's Web site, www.iuhabitat.org. \nSince the bike tour ends the day of the IU vs. Purdue football game, Doyle said the bikers will end in the parking lot at Ross-Ade Stadium with celebration and tailgating before the football game. \nDoyle hopes the Bucket 100 becomes a major fund-raiser Habitat can do every year.\n"We know it's our first year, so we're not going to make unattainable goals," he said. "Our reasonable goal is to raise enough to co-sponsor a house"
(09/29/06 3:28am)
While in a Texas shelter after Hurricane Katrina, a transgender woman emerged from the showers only to be greeted with an arrest for criminal trespassing. Police said that she was using the "wrong bathroom." \nThis case was one of the examples of discrimination Miss Gay Bloomington, Britney Taylor, brought up in her discussion Thursday with more than 40 IU law students.\n"How do we charge criminal trespassing during a hurricane?" Taylor asked the audience.\nTaylor was crowned Miss Gay Bloomington last year in the annual pageant in which contestants compete to be a good entertainer, among other things. Jason Ervin, the owner of Miss Gay Bloomington, said the winner does shows all year in addition to pushing agenda related to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights. \nFor an hour, Taylor led discussion regarding the transgender rights movement and the legal implications faced by the population.\n"These are our future lawmakers to shape the country," she said. "This is an issue that needs to be focused on and clarified so (there is) no confusion and hopefully laws are passed."\nEric Bowers, co-president of the Lambda Law Society and coordinator of the event, said the goals of hosting this discussion and speech were to open up transgender issues to the law students.\n"The discussion really highlighted the deficiencies in our current society where people don't know about the plight of underprivileged people."\nJames Young, a third-year law student, said he felt the discussion was better than reading an article about transgender rights.\n"You learn about the speaker's personal experience from a more interesting and personal point of view," he said. "I find that the legal issues are so very new and it's very interesting to me, especially since these issues were not before the courts 50 years ago."\nSecond-year law student Adria Villar was among the attendees of the event and is a supporter of GLBT rights.\n"I'm interested in the transgender point of view, and the discussion reinforced the humanity of a community that is suffering and their awareness in terms of their own GLBT issues," Villar said.\nThe discussion lead to transgender rights in other countries, with Taylor explaining how Brazil is working toward having three bathrooms, the third being a unisex bathroom.\n"I really don't think we need three bathrooms (for a solution everywhere). I am not a third sex. I identify myself as a woman," Taylor said. "I don't go into a bathroom to try and pick up anyone. I go and do what I need to do and leave, but I understand where people wouldn't be comfortable."\nWith Brazil's progress for more rights, other places seem to be moving in the same direction. \nTaylor said, however, that she has had her own share of discrimination, from walking down the street to employment situations. \n"I've been asked walking down the streets if I'm a man or a woman by children," she said. "Almost every where I go, someone is going to say something. I know the looks; I know when something's said"