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Letters to the Editor

The fight against Fast Track

The fight against the Fast Track bill itself changed Dec. 6, when 215 Democrats and Republicans effectively sold a critical legislative power to the executive branch. The focus now falls on Fast Track's results. No one doubts that the Senate will give the president the authority to negotiate international trade agreements and to draft all impending legislation needed to get U.S. law in line with these agreements. Nightmares over his incoherent expressions aside, our president and his corporate crew will secretly pen trade agreements and laws that determine labor rights, environmental practices and control over government's basic services -- education, health care, water, to name a few. And Congress will have less than 20 hours to review and vote on these crucial agreements that affect the most basic areas of our lives. The vote will be a simple yes or no, Congress having surrendered its right to add amendments to this legislation. Representative democracy at work -- too bad it's for corporate interests instead of citizens' interests.

Israel proposes troop withdrawal

JERUSALEM -- Israel has proposed withdrawing troops from some Palestinian areas in the West Bank to test the ability of Palestinian security to prevent attacks on civilians, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Sunday.

Unpopular dress codes persist

Many of today's teen fashions lean toward showing more skin, and some high school students head off to the mall in low-rise jeans and tight tops. It's apparel deemed unsuitable for the classroom, but students at area high schools had varying opinions about the rules.

Team earns first of 3 goals with Big Ten win

The taste of victory is sweet for the men's volleyball team. After losing their last two games to Utah and Texas A&M in the Great Eight Tournament March 9, the men seemed to be back on track March 23 and 24 at the Big Ten Conferance Championship, taking first place.

Enrollment increases

Due to the slow-moving economy, graduate and professional programs have seen a tremendous surge in applications over the past year. State and federal governments should embrace this trend by increasing funding to graduate and professional programs.

Professor helps keep beaches open

A new bacterial forecasting system developed by Greg Olyphant, associate professor of geological sciences, has made it possible for cities to accurately predict potentially hazardous bacteria levels along Lake Michigan. The system may potentially eliminate unnecessary beach closings, which have plagued lakefront cities such as Chicago and Milwaukee. Olyphant's system uses weather characteristics such as recent rainfall, wind, lake levels, air and water temperature and sunshine to estimate E-coli levels in the water as well as on the beach. What makes the model so valuable is its timeliness, Olyphant said. The new computerized approach can forecast E-coli levels within just three hours.

Defense steps up, offense well-rounded

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Before Sunday the Hoosiers had at least four players score in double figures in each of their last three games.

Beware of Senator Daschle

I'm about a week behind on the insta-analysis of the Jim Jeffords defection. For what it's worth, here's my view: Jeffords was a RiNO - Republican in Name Only - in a party full of elephants. If you openly profess to be a Republican these days, it automatically means you're a closet fascist or racist (boring and uptight, too), especially on large, public universities. Most Republicans (the elephants) stand strong through this mud throwing.

Defense site destroyed

U.S. warplanes bombed an air defense site in northern Iraq on Wednesday after coming under attack from Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery, the U.S. military said.

Gophers' offense buries Hoosiers

MINNEAPOLIS -- Tom Coverdale kicked the ball, and Dane Fife finished the game with two tackles. You won't find those statistics on any sheet of paper, but they do justice to IU's matchup with Minnesota at Williams Arena Saturday.

Williams ties Big Ten record with 6 TDs in single game

MADISON, Wis. - What a game. What a record-breaking, defense dominating, near-flawless game. It's almost unexplainable, almost unbelievable, almost uncomprehendable how a winless IU football team traveled to Wisconsin and completely rolled over a 3-2 Badger team.

University sets up free long distance

IU classes are meeting today so students can discuss the day's events in the wake of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, University officials said. The University has also made long distance phone calls free so students can keep in touch with family. A University spokeswoman said going to classes would give students and faculty a chance to talk about the attacks in New York and Washington.

Death of a dream

It wasn't supposed to be this way. It wasn't supposed to degenerate into this whispered recrimination, this veiled unhappiness, this behind-the-back finger pointing. When the Thomas H. Fox House was built in 1996, what it offered was a flicker of hope in the gloom of AIDS. The five-bedroom house with communal living areas was conceived as a place for HIV positive people to live and die.

Questions remain after first half of season

The All Star break is upon us fans of Major League Baseball, meaning the season is a little more than halfway home. So, with that in mind, it is time to reflect on what we have seen in the previous few months, and what may be to come as the season winds down to a close. 1) The Next Great Home Run Race? 2) Surprise Division Leaders. 3) The Trading Deadline.

Lady Hoosiers travel to Illinois

The IU women's basketball team prides itself on its leadership from four starting seniors. Illinois looks for inspiration elsewhere with only one senior in its opening lineup. "Senior leadership is important, but you have to be passionate and you have to be hungry and you got to want to make it happen," Illinois coach, Theresa Grentz, said. "If you don't have seniors, you go with what you have. The key is to be passionate. You have to have great desire."

Team travels across country for tournament

The IU volleyball team left to travel across the country Thursday to The Loyola Marymount Invitational -- a tournament they could not be more excited about. "I've never been to California," said sophomore Melissa Brewer, "I'm very excited. Hopefully we'll have some free time to look around and this trip should give us a chance to regroup."

Working for changes

For 10 years, Peggy MacPeak made baseball caps on the assembly line at a New Era factory in Derby, N.Y. Her job was to force a piece of cardboard into the bill before stitching it closed. It was grueling, monotonous work, but she said she was always proud of the caps she helped to make.

The kids are alright

Go Back: The real world is scary