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(11/21/03 4:50am)
The Bloomington music scene lost one of its greatest contributors when Tom Donohue passed away Wednesday from complications from liver cancer.\nHe would have been 54 next week.\nDonohue had been a staple of the Bloomington music scene for more than 25 years, working in several music stores, and finally settling as owner of TD's CDs & LPs on Kirkwood Avenue. He also organized concerts in the area, bringing many national acts such as The Flaming Lips to Bloomington.\nOriginally a series of benefit concerts running from Nov. 15 to 26 was planned for Donohue. They will still take place as memorial concerts, the first of which will feature local bands covering The Beatles.\nDonohue always made it a point to inform his customers of upcoming local shows that were otherwise ignored.\n"He was very supportive of local music," Donohue's longtime friend Rex Miller said. "He liked all types of music, and he would do anything he could to help out local bands."\nWFIU Public Radio announcer Joe Bourne said Donohue stayed committed to music long after most people would have moved on to other things.\n"He was there when he needed to be to support people in music," Bourne said. "Other people might not do that as they got older, but he did. He was a supremely fine person." \nDonohue never advertised much for his business, but instead sponsored as many local shows as possible in hopes of bringing people into the store. That and word of mouth gave TD's the reputation as "the place" for local music in Bloomington.\nMiller said through this commitment to the local scene, and music overall, Donohue made many friends, perhaps more than he will ever know.\n"He had a lot of friends," Miller said. "I'm not even sure he knew how many friends he had. There were a lot of people who really cared about him. He was truly a nice guy. He never had anything bad to say about anyone."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.
(11/20/03 5:21am)
A University memo advising administrators to obtain private addresses for personal e-mails was prompted by a request for an IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis employee's messages, officials said.\nMartin Hensley, a volunteer at WJCF, a Greenfield, Ind.-based Christian radio station, filed a complaint with the Indiana Public Access Counselor to have the e-mails of IUPUI Information Systems Coordinator Janet Wolford released to the public.\nHensley believed the e-mails would show Wolford made threats toward her husband.\nHensley had initially requested the e-mails from IU, but the University counsel's office denied the request. Hensley filed a formal complaint with the Public Access Counselor Sept. 11.\nInterim Public Access Counselor Sandra Bowman issued an opinion Oct. 10 finding the University had violated the Indiana Access to Public Records Act by not releasing the e-mails.\n"E-mail is like any other record," Bowman said. "If an exception applies you can dispute it, but otherwise, it's a matter of public record."\nAfter Bowman's opinion was released, Associate University Counsel Thomas Gannon wrote in a memo Oct. 20 that University employees and any others who use IU computing resources, "should expect and assume that all records created and maintained in any format, including e-mail (whether personal or business related), are subject to public disclosure pursuant to (the 1984 Indiana Access to Public Records Act), unless such records clearly fall within an exception to the law."\nExceptions would include an e-mail to a professor with a question about a course. Bowman said such e-mails would be covered under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, which protects student privacy.\nThe Indiana General Assembly reviewed whether e-mails were a matter of public record in 2001, and passed a bill protecting them from public disclosure. However, then-Gov. Frank O'Bannon vetoed the bill.\nProponents of public access worry that memoes such as the one issued by the University Legal Counsel may keep faculty from even doing regular business on their e-mail accounts.\n"From a policy standpoint it makes sense for the University to advise employees to not use e-mail on state-owned equipment to do personal messaging," Stephen Key, general counsel for the Hoosier State Press Association, told the IDS last week. "The concern is if they quit using University e-mail for University business and communicate on private e-mail accounts. That would be a concern for those trying to hold public officials accountable."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.
(11/19/03 5:17am)
Junior Adam VanOsdol was named spring semester editor in chief of the Indiana Daily Student by the IDS publications board Tuesday afternoon.\nVanOsdol will replace the current editor in chief, senior Cory Schouten.\n"He has good news instincts, plus he's a thoughtful and talented editor and writer," Schouten said. "I think people are going to enjoy working for him."\nVanOsdol, the only candidate for the position, was named editor by a nine-member board made up of three professional journalists, three students and three members of the faculty.\n"Adam was my boss last spring (as campus editor) so I know how capable he is," said junior Colin Kearns, an IDS senior writer who served on the publications board. "He may be a little shy at times, but I have no doubt in my mind that he can make a decision on deadline. He'll be a good fit for the job."\nVanOsdol, a journalism major, has been on staff since his freshman year and is currently a senior writer. He also interned with the Kokomo Tribune in the summer of 2002. He said one of his goals is to focus on upgrading the paper's Web site.\n"I plan to do a few things differently," VanOsdol said. "I'll be working to improve idsnews.com. I want to try to add some things to make the site more interactive."\nThere will also could be changes behind the scenes.\n"He wants to look further into the business aspect, like the wages of editors and writers, which from my standpoint is a good thing," Kearns said.\nUsually IDS editors are seniors, but the board was impressed with VanOsdol's commitment to journalism.\n"It's a little unique to have a junior as editor," publisher Dave Adams said. "I know it's happened before, but probably not in the past five or six years. Though he's a little younger than many recent editor in chiefs, he has a special passion for journalism. I believe that will make him an excellent staff leader."\nOne quality that especially impressed Adams is VanOsdol's drive to scoop competitors.\n"He has a passion for making sure the paper has everything that interests the IU community, even more so than other local media," Adams said. "He seems to get a special joy and glee from that. It's a nice passion to have."\nKearns said VanOsdol plans to stay in competition with local media.\n"Adam has a strong competitive side to him," he said. "He's committed to the IDS staying on top of breaking news, and ahead of its competitors."\nBut VanOsdol said he's really just out to learn.\n"Journalism is a way to seek out knowledge," VanOsdol said. "It's a way to learn about anything I want."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.
(11/17/03 7:26pm)
Three IU professors have been awarded Fulbright grants to lecture abroad.\nProfessor of education Charles Allen Swanson Bankart was awarded a grant to go to Korea, business administration professor Robert Klemkosky will go to Croatia and linguistics professor Steven Franks will travel to Italy.\nFranks said he is excited about his trip.\n"Venice is one of the best places in the world for me to pursue my academic interests," Franks said. "It offers a vibrant community of active, engaged linguists who are interested in applying the same universalist perspective as I hold to complex comparative issues."\nUnfortunately, Klemkosky said he declined his grant because he will retire next August to create a new business graduate program at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea.\nThe Fulbright is a program promoting international educational exchange that was instituted shortly after the end of World War II.\nJ. William Fulbright, the Arkansas senator behind the grant, viewed it as a way of promoting "mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries of the world," according to the Council for International Exchange of Scholars Web site, www.cies.org.\nFranks, whose official title will be Fulbright Distinguished Chair at the University of Venice, said he hopes to live up to this original mandate as he prepares to teach his class, "Slavic Syntax From a Universal Grammar Perspective."\n"The course addresses Slavic language problems of broader theoretical concern," he explained. "Concomitantly, I will conduct my own research into issues stemming from the course material, exploring aspects of case-feature mechanics and the more general question of how optimality might regulate the interface between different modules of grammar."\nThe University of Venice is one of the leading research centers in the world in the area of theoretical syntax, and also has one of the longest standing Fulbright programs.\nFranks said he has chosen to work with Slavic syntax because of the insight it gives into linguistic variation.\n"The comparison of closely-related languages has come to play a key role in recent linguistic research," Franks explained. "In trying to flesh out and delimit the ways in which grammars may vary, it is vital to compare similar phenomena within a closely-knit group of languages. In broad terms, I seek in my comparative work to extend current generative models of variation in core grammatical systems to accommodate the rich range of diversity found among the Slavic languages."\nTo further prepare for his three-month stay in Italy, which is set to begin in mid-March, Franks said he has delved even further into the field of linguistics by sitting in on a few Italian classes. \n"I've never been to Venice, but I've heard it's a beautiful place," he said. "People who have been there tell me it is the most beautiful city in the world."\nBankart could not be reached for comment.\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.
(11/13/03 6:06am)
IU officials are advising University personnel to obtain private e-mail accounts to send and receive personal messages since their e-mails could be requested as a matter of public record, according to a memo sent Oct. 20 by University lawyers.\nAnything sent or received on an IU e-mail account could be subject to public disclosure, Associate University Counsel Thomas Gannon wrote in the memo to the IU board of trustees, vice presidents and all University chancellors.\nThe e-mail was not sent to students.\nGannon said all University employees and any others, including students, who use IU computing resources, "should expect and assume that all records created and maintained in any format, including e-mail (whether personal or business related), are subject to public disclosure pursuant to (the 1984 Indiana Access to Public Records Act), unless such records clearly fall within an exception to the law."\nStephen Key, general counsel for the Hoosier State Press Association, said the advisement could pose a problem when keeping track of public officials.\n"From a policy standpoint it makes sense for the University to advise employees to not use e-mail on state-owned equipment to do personal messaging," Key said. "The concern is if they quit using University e-mail for University business and communicate on private e-mail accounts. That would be a concern for those trying to hold public officials accountable."\nThe University memo goes on to advise "there is no exception that generally excludes e-mails from disclosure ... according to a recent advisory opinion issue by the Indiana Public Access Counselor."\nThe opinion is not legally binding, though; it is only Counselor Sandra K. Bowman's interpretation of the law.\nBowman could not be reached for comment Wednesday.\nExceptions to disclosure would include patient medical records, information concerning research and information that must be kept confidential under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, which includes documents such as University transcripts.\n"This memo merely reinstates the necessity for care in all correspondence," said Fred Eichhorn, president of the board of trustees.\nIf someone attempts to gain access to student e-mail, saying it is a matter of public record, the first defense will be FERPA, Gannon said.\n"If it were deemed that the records of the student were grades or other records that were kept by the University, they wouldn't be released," Gannon said. "That would be the first thing, to see if the student were exempt under FERPA."\nRecently, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that personal e-mail was exempt from the open records statute of that state, but there is no similar ruling pending in Indiana.\n"It's always possible though," Gannon said. "Someone could advance an argument against it, or there could be a change in legislation."\nIn the meantime Gannon suggests if students are worried about their privacy, they simply should get another e-mail address.\n"People may have certain expectations of privacy with their e-mail," he said. "We're just telling them that they need to to re-adjust those expectations. What you write could be public record. If you have concerns you can always get a free account from Yahoo or Hotmail."\nSome students are less than thrilled at the prospect of their e-mail being a matter of public record.\n"That's scary that anyone out there could find things out about me from a personal letter I wrote to my friend," senior Matt Goodman said.\nOthers are less concerned with someone gaining access to their e-mail.\n"I'm not that worried about someone wanting to access it," junior Jenn Kriscunas said. "And if they really want to, there are other ways they can get into it."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.
(11/11/03 5:52am)
Senior Craig Doss lost his long battle with manic depression Sunday night.\nDoss, whose parents said he had been suffering from the illness for years, was found by his roommate hanging by a nylon strap in the basement of their home in the 400 block of N. Herald Street just before midnight, Sgt. David Drake of the Bloomington Police Department said.\nDoss' father, Steve Doss, prepared a letter for friends of the family informing them of what had occurred. \n"I know we have all prayed for the healing of our son," he said in the letter. "That healing finally came Sunday when Craig took his own life."\nSteve Doss said his son's battle with depression led him to two previous suicide attempts.\n"(Manic depression) is a horrible disease," he said. "It's a constant battle. He was fighting demons in his brain every day."\nCraig Doss' mother Judith remembers her son as "a generous, giving, funny, kinda half-crazy guy." \n"He was very giving and very reliable," she said. "You could always rely on him when you needed to."\nCraig, a St. Louis native, was an avid rugby player. He played for the IU team as a freshman.\n"For an aggressive rugby-type person he was very compassionate," Steve said. "He had tremendous compassion for those who didn't have much. A lot of people didn't realize that about him."\nCraig was majoring in public policy and Spanish. He studied at the University of Madrid last semester through a program sponsored by IU, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin.\nHowever, even in Spain, he was at war with his "demons."\n"When he was in Spain he had gone to a museum and seen some of Van Gogh's work," his father said. "He told me that from just one look at his artwork he could just see the torture in the artist."\nBut more than anything, the Dosses will remember their son -- not for his battles within -- but for the good work he did for others.\n"There was a motto at the high school Craig went to -- 'Men for Others.' He lived by that," Steve said.\nAccording to the National Institute of Mental Health, suicide was the third leading cause of death among 15 to 24 year olds in 2000. Research has shown that some people may be predisposed to manic depression, caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, through heredity. Depression can also be triggered by a distressing life event, another illnesses, a change in health habits, substance abuse, or hormonal fluctuations, according to the group's Web site. For more information, visit www.nimh.nih.gov. \n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.
(11/10/03 6:03am)
IU's Advanced Visualization Lab has developed and licensed its first eight John-e-Box 3-D stereo display systems.\n"The John-e-Box is a portable large format display system that allows many people to stand around it at the same time in order to share visual information," said Eric Wernert, senior scientist and manager for the AVL.\nThe AVL is a unit of University Information Technology Services that supports visualization, virtual reality, and visual collaboration technology for research, education, high end graphics and high end activities, Wernert said.\nThe John-e-Box is especially useful for viewing 3-D models of molecules, architectural plans or data sets. The effect is similar to that of an IMAX movie or the perennial child's toy, the viewfinder.\nSimilar devices in the past lacked the portability of the John-e-Box, which measures just 4 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet when unfolded and 4 feet by 4 feet by 1 foot when traveling from place to place.\n"With devices in the past you had to take people to a lab to use them, but the John-e-Box comes with them wherever they are," Wernert said.\nThe John-e-Box is also much more affordable than similar devices that can't be transported.\n"In 1997, a similar device called the Immersadesk was purchased at IUPUI which cost over $200,000," Wernert said. "The John-e-Box costs just under $20,000. It could even be written into a grant as opposed to previous machines which only the largest research projects could afford. That's not exactly cheap, but it's still much more affordable."\nThere is a also a large-scale VR device at this campus as well, called the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment, or just "CAVE," which allows several students to simultaneously experience a simulated environment on screens all 360 degrees around them.\nThe John-e-Box is by no means meant to replace this system.\n"The CAVE is a valuable facility," Wernert said. "But we only have one on campus, and it can't be moved from location to location, and its use has to be scheduled. The John-e-Box is just trying to push this technology into the classroom. It makes people much more likely to use it."\nMargaret Dolinsky, an associate professor with the School of Fine Arts, said she sees portability as the main advantage of the John-e-Box.\n"As an artist it's important for me to get my work out there, and there are no museums in the U.S which have CAVEs," Dolinsky said. "The John-e-Box is a much more affordable, portable way of getting your artwork displayed that doesn't require much technical assistance."\nHowever, she believes the CAVE can be much more effective at displaying an artist's vision.\n"They're very different," Dolinsky said. "The CAVE is much more immersive. There are screens around you, above you, and below you. The John-e-Box only has one screen so it isn't quite as immersive."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.
(11/05/03 5:40am)
The latest issue of the Indiana Business Review reports that more women are choosing high-tech positions, such as engineer, physician and mathematician, over jobs traditionally held by women, such as cashier, librarian or nurse.\nThe IBR is a quarterly research publication of the Indiana Business Research Center, part of the IU Kelley School of Business.\nThere are several reasons why the gap between men and women in high-tech jobs is closing.\n"More women are interested in these fields because there are more jobs available in them today," said Carol Rogers, author of the article and associate director of the IBRC. "The average salary also tends to be a bit higher, and K-12 education is not limiting or pushing away women who are interested in these jobs."\nThough the place of women in high-tech industries has grown in the past three decades, especially since the 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act which gave women more recognition while researching at universities, Indiana has not been as quick to grow as other states.\n"Overall, Indiana is proportionally lagging behind the rest of the nation when it comes to women in high-tech jobs," Rogers said. "But there are many organizations trying to change that such as 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day," and 'Women in High Tech,' which gets girls interested in science in high school."\nGrowth in high-tech industries is expected to increase anywhere from 52 to 100 percent between now and 2010 depending on the field, according to the IBR.\nStill, the role of Hoosier women in that growth is in question.\n"I don't think anyone can deny that girls can grow up to be engineers, mathematicians or NASA pilots," Rogers said. "The question is: do girls really like these fields and are the barriers down low enough for them to enter these fields?"\nAnother area expected to see more output from women is patenting. \n"Many more women are participating in graduate studies and we're seeing much more patent activity from them," said Jennifer Kurtz, a research fellow with the IBRC. "In the past, those opportunities were really only open to men, but now we're seeing the result of women's participation in innovation."\nKurtz encourages women looking to enter the high-tech industry to consider a degree in informatics, biology or chemistry, but says that just about any degree could be used in high tech.\nAn English degree, for instance, could help in the field of linguistics.\n"If it makes sense and the opportunity presents itself, be open to it. You can't run from high tech," Kurtz said. "I talk to my daughters about the future, and they don't expect Prince Charming to come and sweep them off their feet. They expect to make it on their own."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.
(10/31/03 5:29am)
Five IU professors have been elected fellows in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a high honor for American and foreign scientists alike.\nThe IU fellows, whose work has been "deemed scientifically or socially distinguished" by the AAAS Council, are anthropology professors Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth, biology professors Mark Estelle and Loren Rieseberg and psychology professor William Timberlake.\n"It is always nice to be recognized by one's peers," Estelle said. "In this case I am particularly honored to be included with the other stellar IU fellows, Rieseberg, Toth, Schick and Timberlake."\nOnly 10 other research institutions, including Harvard, Yale and Duke, had more fellows inducted in this year's class of 348.\nIt is not just the recognized scientists who are responsible for these accomplishments, however. Estelle said he had a lot of help from his students in improving the scientific community's understanding of auxin, a hormone responsible for plant growth and development.\n"We work with a small plant called Arabidopsis, also called 'mouse ear cress' or 'mustard weed.' Over the years we have learned a lot about how auxin works by isolating and studying mutant Arabidopsis plants," he said. "It is also important to note that I am being recognized for work that was performed by many wonderful graduate students, postdocs and technicians over 18 years."\nTimberlake's work is especially relevant because it is validating that experiments conducted on animals in a lab setting are indicative of their behavior in a natural setting.\n"I have done several series of experiments indicating that common laboratory learning paradigms engage mechanisms related to the functional behavior of animals in their ecological niches," Timberlake said. "This provides a specific basis for the belief that laboratory behavior has relevance for ecological behavior work and vice versa."\nAfter being named a fellow in such a prestigious science organization, there's not much else for these scientists to do but continue with the research that got them there in the first place.\nTimberlake looks to show even more connections between animal behavior in an experiment and in the natural habitat.\n"I am interested in increasing the number of lanes on the bridge between laboratory and field behavior by considering evolutionary trends on one hand and specific neurophysiology mechanisms on the other," Timberlake said. "I am especially interested in relating spatial and temporal learning in circumstances ranging from local foraging bouts to circadian rhythms."\nEstelle said he too hopes to complete his research into the working of auxin.\n"My group will continue to study plant hormones," Estelle said. "We have a long way to go before we have a complete understanding of how auxin works. Like all biological processes, it is very complex, and many questions still remain."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.
(10/28/03 6:31am)
With Halloween right around the corner, many students might be a little apprehensive of taking a walk around campus after nightfall.\nBut the Commission on Personal Safety is making efforts to improve safety by making sure walkways and parking lots are properly lit.\nThe Commission held its annual Fall Night Walk Monday around the campus, evaluating the poorly lit areas that students had most complained about.\n"We need to keep the campus sensitive to these problems," said Dean of Students Richard McKaig. "Most of the people on this walk drive to campus every day. They aren't walking around."\nThe group met in the parking lot across from the Service Building at the corner of Walnut Grove and Cottage Grove avenues, and wound its way through the University's many streets and walkways.\nMany said it is important for people to feel safe walking alone at night. \n"My impression is that in a crowd even darker places aren't as intimidating, but when you're alone you start hearing things," parking manager Doug Porter said. "If you're in a parking garage with a bunch of people, it's no big deal, but if you're all alone in that garage at 1 a.m. it feels a lot different."\nAlong with lighting problems on campus, a representative of the IU Student Association joined the group to alert walkers to concerns about the blue lights that warn the IU Police Department of emergencies.\n"We realize that sometimes the buttons are pushed as pranks or there's just not someone to respond, but there have been lots of complaints, and we're not sure if they're always responded to," said junior John Peck, health and safety director for the IU Student Association.\nA major challenge for the commission was understanding the ways people use the paths around campus.\n"Students just take off in a direction if there's not a fence in their way, and even then sometimes they'll just go over it," Porter said. "We advise them to use common sense and avoid areas that are naturally dark."\nHowever, he said there are no plans to do anything about Dunn's Woods, the area that students most complain about.\n"The theory is that they leave (Dunn's) Woods dark on purpose so people will stay out of it," Peck said.\nThe area would need to be cleared to properly light it, as well.\n"My understanding is that they would have to cut down the trees and basically make it into a parking lot," Carol McCord, assistant dean of women's affairs, said. "We don't want to ruin the beauty of the campus."\nAt the end of the walk, the commission recommended changes in lighting in the area behind Collins Living-Learning Center, the portion of Woodlawn Street just off campus, and the walkway between Foster Quad and the Kelley School of Business.\n"We're certainly not saving energy, but at least it's safe," Peck said.\nThe commission will hold another campus walk in the spring.\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.
(10/23/03 5:36am)
BioCrossroads, the recently christened central Indiana life science initiative, announced Tuesday the formation of Indiana Future Fund I, a more than $72 million capital pool that will invest in regional and national venture capital to encourage direct investment in life science opportunities within Indiana.\nThe Future Fund benefits the life sciences initiative, which was renamed BioCrossroads last week in reference to Indiana's motto "Crossroads of America."\nBioCrossroads' goal is to increase life science jobs in Indiana to benefit the lagging economy, officials said.\nIU and the IU Foundation invested in the life sciences fund as well as several other public and private investors.\n"As home to the nation's second largest medical school, (IU) has been on the cutting-edge of improving human health," IU President Adam Herbert said in a statement. "The Indiana Future Fund will be key to tapping into the economic potential of our research efforts, and contributing to Indiana's economic health in the process."\nThe original goal of the fund was to raise between $50 million and $150 million, but fund-raising ended nine months earlier in order to invest the fund as soon as possible.\nIt is likely that when the funds are used up in a year or two, a new fund-raiser will begin, Indianapolis attorney David Johnson told The Associated Press. Johnson was part of a committee that raised the money.\nAt least 60 percent of the fund must go to life science firms in Indiana, which is home to 1,200 life science companies.\n"The life science initiative is a great partnership which will be the basis for companies to license, produce and create products involved in health care," BioCrossroads public and media relations science writer Eric Schoch said.\nAlso this week, BioCrossroads, in partnership with Roche Diagnostics, announced it will hold a conference on biosensors Wednesday at the IU-Purdue University Indianapolis Conference Center.\nBiosensors are small devices that can detect changes in light, sound and chemicals, among other uses. They are one of the eight target opportunities BioCrossroads sees future growth in.\n"The conference will feature company presentations, panels and the opportunity to search for potential partnership opportunities," BioCrossroads spokesman Jenny Cebalo said.\nFor more information on the initiative, log on to www.biocrossroads.com.\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.
(10/16/03 5:27am)
The very best players are treated like celebrities, the biggest games are televised and the next day, the scores are printed in the paper.\nThis is no professional sport, however. It's a game, one that most Americans have never even heard about -- but it's immensely popular in Asia.\nIt's called Go. The closest Western game it can be compared to is chess, but it's much more complex. In fact, computers still can't beat humans at Go because there are so many possible moves in each turn.\nNow, Go has spread across the Pacific Ocean to IU.\nA little more than two years ago, Chris Horn, a recent IU graduate, and a few of his friends heard in their cognitive science class about the difficulties computers have playing Go. Horn and his friends learned how to play the game from books and then approached the Asian Culture Center about starting a Go club.\n"They were happy to have us," junior Andrew Allred said. "They bought the boards and stones, and they even made us popcorn and drinks."\nPlayers on campus meet at 5 p.m. every Tuesday, and they are even planning a tournament some time later this year.\nSome people say Go, which began in either China or Tibet more than 4,000 years ago, has a certain addictive quality to it. The game is similar to puzzle video games like Tetris. \nThe game is played on a wooden board criss-crossed by black lines that make up 361 spaces. Each player then uses smooth black or white beads to surround the other player's beads. The other players beads then are captured. This continues until there is no more usable space on the board. \n"It looks really simple, but there are lots of interesting possibilities during a game," Horn said.\nThe game of Go is so addictive that some players say they begin to see strategies from the game in real life.\n"It changes the way you look at things. Sometimes you have these really freaky 'Go epiphanies,'" Allred said. "You look at a tree and see Go patterns, or one day I was telling Bryan (Bergert) that Go was giving me a better understanding of our military flaws with the war in Iraq."\nGo has a bit of a history with war strategy. Japan's island-hopping strategy during World War II is said to be based off of Go techniques. In fact, the U.S. military encouraged GIs to play the game, hoping it would give them a better understanding of the Japanese mind.\nFor a time, Go declined in popularity in the Far East, a status it still has in some countries such as China. \n"It's not that popular," said Jing Li Cheng, a Go-playing graduate student from China. "Only people who are really interested in it or families with a tradition of playing Go play it. Some see it as an opportunity for their kids to get famous and send their kids to schools." \nRecently though, the Japanese have taken a renewed interest in Go thanks to the anime "Hikaru's Go."\nAllred said he has a theory as to why Go is still widely played four millennia since its creation.\n"Go is a very territorial game," he said. "And everything humans do is territorial."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.
(10/06/03 5:55am)
Graduate student Mike Kiss always saw London as the financial capital of the world, so when the opportunity came earlier this year for him to intern at the public relations firm Edelman London, he immediately seized it.\n"(London) has a history of major global influence, and I really wanted to see these aspects first hand," Kiss said. "The convenience of the English language helped too."\nEach year more and more students are taking advantage of internships overseas. The Office of Overseas Studies offers a dozen programs in other countries, including Barcelona, Spain, Freiberg, Germany, and Melbourne, Australia.\nInternships completed through the Office of Overseas Studies count for credit in conjunction with the study abroad program. \nStudents apply for this program, and if accepted, they work with an internship coordinator abroad to write a resume appropriate for the country. \nThe coordinator then searches for internship possibilities in that country. Usually the students interview for the positions when they arrive in the country.\nThe major advantage to an internship in another country is being able to look at a profession through the eyes of another culture.\n"An internship experience abroad introduces a student to a local culture and another, possibly different way of looking at a task or field of study," said assistant director of the Office of Overseas Studies Paige Weting.\nMany companies are also looking to hire students with a better understanding of the world.\n"Students interning abroad also demonstrate global competencies that so often employers are looking for today," Weting said. "This cannot necessarily be done interning in the U.S."\nAlthough Kiss didn't get his internship through IU, he is still experiencing these benefits.\n"When I interviewed for an internship in the U.S. last summer the employers said how wonderful it was that I had the international experience of working in London," Kiss said. "Many opportunities have become available to me that otherwise might not have because of my internship."\nAnother way for students to intern abroad is through the Career Development Center.\nThe CDC has a library of books with information about interning overseas that students are free to peruse, as well as information on their Web site, www.indiana.edu/~career/internships.\nThe development center can also put students in contact with a company such as CDS International, which will arrange an internship with a company overseas for a fee.\n"The Internet can also be a good place to search for international internships," said Career Development Center director Pat Donahue. "Sometimes a company will decide not to put something in a book or market it, and you have to look it up."\nDonahue also advised that students looking to pursue an internship in another country do it during the summer months, as it might interfere with their school work if they can't get credits for it.\n"I cannot emphasize enough how absolutely vital internships are to getting a job today," Donahue said. "And an international internship just looks incredible on a resume"
(09/11/03 4:00am)
Nearly all of us have memories of gathering around an NES with friends when we were younger to play the hottest new games; classics like "Super Mario Bros.," "Contra" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."\nBut what only the hardcore gamers remember is just how much screaming, wall punching and controller-throwing these classic games induced.\nIn the grand old days of the NES and even the SNES and Sega Genesis to a lesser extent, I would sit down with a game expecting to be challenged. \nI knew I would be lucky to finish the first level of "Bart vs. The Space Mutants," let alone beat the entire game. \nBart Simpson had a very limited number of lives in that game, new ones were hard to come by and there was absolutely no saving between levels, like games offer today. To this day, I still haven't beaten that game. In fact, there weren't many games at all in my old NES collection that I had beaten. \nYet each time I got just a little bit further in a game, I felt a certain sense of accomplishment.\nThat's a lot more than I can say about current video games for the Sony Playstation2, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube.\nBeing an avid Xbox player, I've beaten some of the best games for the system, including "HALO," "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" and "Dead or Alive 3." Sure, I've had fun along the way, but I just don't feel like I've accomplished much. \nWho's played those games and not beaten them?\n"HALO" is a cinch compared to "DOOM," "Knights of the Old Republic" can't hold a candle to the uber-difficult "Dragon Warrior" and "Dead or Alive 3" is a cakewalk compared to "SuperStreet Fighter II Turbo." \nIt's not that my skills have gotten that much better over the years; if anything they've degraded. I can't play the old NES games nearly as well as I could back in the day. The problem is that game developers aren't making challenging games anymore.\nTake away all the flashy graphics and sound effects, then compare the actual core gameplay of a recent role-playing game like "Knights of the Old Republic" to the early "Final Fanasy" or "Dragon Warrior" games. \nI breezed through "Knights" this past summer without any forced leveling up and when I got to the last boss, I beat him in about only five tries.\nOld-school NES RPGs took time and patience to build a character up and even then there was no guarantee you would prevail in the final boss battle. \nThose games were fun and challenging.\nGames have been getting easier for awhile now, but things have really gotten simpler since the release of "Grand Theft Auto III" on the PS2 in late 2001. That was the game that brought the entire industry mainstream attention.\nThe upside to this is now video game culture is receiving the funds to ensure it will continue for a long time to come.\nThe price, however, could be the death of old-fashioned hardcore gaming. Mainstream gamers want shorter, easier games and since that's who games are being marketed to now, that's what the developers are creating.\nLuckily, a few games that actually require skill, like Treasure's 2-D shooter, "Ikaruga" for GameCube and SEGA's rail shooter, "Panzer Dragoon Orta" for Xbox still come out each year, but how much longer will this continue?\n"Ikaruga" was almost never released in North America. SEGA said if "Orta" sold well enough they would consider producing an RPG sequel, but that game has never been formally announced, inferring that it didn't sell as well as they expected.\nI still enjoy a good dorm room game of "HALO" or just goofing around with killing sprees in "GTA", but I crave the rare games that require skill to master. \nUnfortunately, the holiday lineup isn't looking too hot for true gamers. PS2 fans have "Gran Turismo 4" to look forward to, a game series known for its near-catatonic computer opponents.\nNintendo is pushing "Mario Kart: Double Dash" this fall, but if their recent big-name sequels are any indication of the quality of this game, I think I'll pass.\nAnd then there's Xbox. Microsoft gamers get to look forward to a two-pack of the games responsible for destroying hardcore gaming: "GTAIII" and "GTA: Vice City."\nThe big name games of the fall should satisfy the unwashed mainstream masses, but I'll be continuing my quest for a truly hardcore game.
(09/10/03 10:45pm)
Nearly all of us have memories of gathering around an NES with friends when we were younger to play the hottest new games; classics like "Super Mario Bros.," "Contra" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."\nBut what only the hardcore gamers remember is just how much screaming, wall punching and controller-throwing these classic games induced.\nIn the grand old days of the NES and even the SNES and Sega Genesis to a lesser extent, I would sit down with a game expecting to be challenged. \nI knew I would be lucky to finish the first level of "Bart vs. The Space Mutants," let alone beat the entire game. \nBart Simpson had a very limited number of lives in that game, new ones were hard to come by and there was absolutely no saving between levels, like games offer today. To this day, I still haven't beaten that game. In fact, there weren't many games at all in my old NES collection that I had beaten. \nYet each time I got just a little bit further in a game, I felt a certain sense of accomplishment.\nThat's a lot more than I can say about current video games for the Sony Playstation2, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube.\nBeing an avid Xbox player, I've beaten some of the best games for the system, including "HALO," "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" and "Dead or Alive 3." Sure, I've had fun along the way, but I just don't feel like I've accomplished much. \nWho's played those games and not beaten them?\n"HALO" is a cinch compared to "DOOM," "Knights of the Old Republic" can't hold a candle to the uber-difficult "Dragon Warrior" and "Dead or Alive 3" is a cakewalk compared to "SuperStreet Fighter II Turbo." \nIt's not that my skills have gotten that much better over the years; if anything they've degraded. I can't play the old NES games nearly as well as I could back in the day. The problem is that game developers aren't making challenging games anymore.\nTake away all the flashy graphics and sound effects, then compare the actual core gameplay of a recent role-playing game like "Knights of the Old Republic" to the early "Final Fanasy" or "Dragon Warrior" games. \nI breezed through "Knights" this past summer without any forced leveling up and when I got to the last boss, I beat him in about only five tries.\nOld-school NES RPGs took time and patience to build a character up and even then there was no guarantee you would prevail in the final boss battle. \nThose games were fun and challenging.\nGames have been getting easier for awhile now, but things have really gotten simpler since the release of "Grand Theft Auto III" on the PS2 in late 2001. That was the game that brought the entire industry mainstream attention.\nThe upside to this is now video game culture is receiving the funds to ensure it will continue for a long time to come.\nThe price, however, could be the death of old-fashioned hardcore gaming. Mainstream gamers want shorter, easier games and since that's who games are being marketed to now, that's what the developers are creating.\nLuckily, a few games that actually require skill, like Treasure's 2-D shooter, "Ikaruga" for GameCube and SEGA's rail shooter, "Panzer Dragoon Orta" for Xbox still come out each year, but how much longer will this continue?\n"Ikaruga" was almost never released in North America. SEGA said if "Orta" sold well enough they would consider producing an RPG sequel, but that game has never been formally announced, inferring that it didn't sell as well as they expected.\nI still enjoy a good dorm room game of "HALO" or just goofing around with killing sprees in "GTA", but I crave the rare games that require skill to master. \nUnfortunately, the holiday lineup isn't looking too hot for true gamers. PS2 fans have "Gran Turismo 4" to look forward to, a game series known for its near-catatonic computer opponents.\nNintendo is pushing "Mario Kart: Double Dash" this fall, but if their recent big-name sequels are any indication of the quality of this game, I think I'll pass.\nAnd then there's Xbox. Microsoft gamers get to look forward to a two-pack of the games responsible for destroying hardcore gaming: "GTAIII" and "GTA: Vice City."\nThe big name games of the fall should satisfy the unwashed mainstream masses, but I'll be continuing my quest for a truly hardcore game.