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Five IU music students are dead after the small airplane carrying them crashed just south of Monroe County Airport late Thursday night. Robert Samels, Zachary Novak, Garth Eppley, Georgina Joshi and Chris Carducci were killed after their six-seat Cessna crashed while attempting to make a landing.

Delta Zeta riding on in Birky's honor

Thursday, sitting on a couch in the Delta Zeta sorority, sophomore Amanda Marquet placed her right hand on her left forearm, just two inches above a green wristband with stitched pink letters that read "BIRKY."

Kappa Kappa Gamma wins record 5th Little 500 title

The sisters of Kappa Kappa Gamma can now take "Little 5" literally. The team won its record-setting fifth championship in familiar fashion Friday. Kappa rider Jess Sapp edged Kappa Delta's Lauren Ziemba by inches to seal the Kappas' fifth championship, a women's Little 500 record. The finish mirrored Kappa's fourth championship in 2004 when Sapp out-sprinted Teter rider Bri Kovac in the final moments of the race. "My team is so strong this year that I knew they could go in and hold off everybody else," Sapp said. "And then at the end I would come in and finish the sprint. It worked out exactly how we planned."

Impromptu memorial for crash victim draws hundreds

Even with tables filled with hundreds of tiny flickering tealights, there weren't enough candles for the number of people who wanted to light them, said Reverend Jimmy Moore, associate pastor of First United Methodist Church. With only a few hours of notice, attendants at First United Methodist Church, 219 E. Fourth St., managed to fill every pew -- including the balcony seats -- for a service to remember the lives of five IU music students killed in a plane crash late Thursday night. More than 500 friends, colleagues and congregation members paid tribute to Zack Novak, who was the church's director of the adult and children's choirs, along with fellow music students Chris Carducci, Garth Eppley, Georgina Joshi and Robert Samels.

UPDATE: Student contracts mumps

An IU student has a confirmed case of mumps, according to a press release from the IU Health Center. Mumps, a viral infection, has been spreading over university campuses in the Midwest. IU Health Center Director Hugh Jessop said in the press release he thought students, faculty and Bloomington residents should be made aware of the symptoms of the disease because of the recent epidemic, including swollen, painful glands on the side of the face; pain while chewing; weakness; tenderness and swelling of the testicles; and puffy cheeks, according to mayoclinic.com.

Making a statement with(out) clothing

A wife beater is not a tank top. A tank top is simply a white, sleeveless top that is worn by men and women. A wife beater is someone who abuses his wife.

Statement from Mayor Kruzan

Statement from Mayor Mark Kruzan and the Monroe County Commissioners Regarding the Plane Crash Near Monroe Airport: "The loss of human life is always a sad situation. The lost promise of such young people makes this situation all the more heartbreaking. The thoughts and prayers of the citizens of the City of Bloomington and Monroe County are with the victims' families and friends."

Back for more

For the last several weeks, teams have trained for the 56th running of the Little 500 with few on-lookers and small crowds. While the teams have some experience riding in front of others this year, nothing can compare to riding in front of the thousands of fans who will pack the stands at 2 p.m. Saturday at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

Women's race has full field for 1st time

Some names might have graduated, but the story is still the same. More and more women's teams have catapulted themselves into the "favorites" category this year, and many riders believe that will only improve the quality of the Little 500 race at 4 p.m. today.

Rainbow riders

With a reputation for being the greatest college weekend, Little 500 has a way of inspiring people. From race rookies to qualifying 27th for the men's Little 500 race, a little inspiration has brought the four IU seniors of Rainbow Cycling a long way. These athletes, however, have more than mere inspiration pumping their pedals. While a stellar race day performance would be nice, these four men say their biggest priorities are friendship and promoting the idea of diversity. With sponsorship from the IU Office of Diversity Education and from the IU GLBT Office of Student Support Services, Rainbow Cycling is hoping to promote a cause bigger then themselves, bigger then Little 500.

Arrest Fest?

Every year during the week before the Little 500 races, police officers swarm Bloomington.

Police apologize for mistaking man's race

Police retracted a statement they made Tuesday that a 25-year-old Bloomington man and his wife, who were victims of a hate crime earlier that morning, were black.

Pitch and toss

pitch and toss -- Senior Mariangee Bogado pitches against Ohio State at the IU Softball Field March 31. The Hoosiers will face Wisconsin at 3 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday.

Before Big Tens, IU women head to OSU

Senior Shannon Johnson, after a near mistake-free outing at the Lady Illini Invitational, looks to lead the charge this weekend as the Hoosiers head east to Columbus, Ohio, for the Lady Buckeye Invitational. Johnson received Big Ten Women's Player of the Week honors after her play at the Lady Illini.

With Final Four on the line, IU hosts Western tourney

As postseason play begins Friday for the No. 16 IU water polo team, the Hoosiers have their sights set on something they have only done once before -- compete in the Final Four for the NCAA water polo championship. Before that happens, however, the Hoosiers are going to have to finish in first or second place this weekend at the Collegiate Water Polo Associate Western Division Championship at the Counsilman-Billingsly Aquatic Center, in Bloomington. This is the first time the Hoosiers will play host to the CWPA Western Championship.

Hoosiers pushing for tournament bid

With one tournament before the Big Ten Championship, the IU men's golf team is running low on opportunities to better its odds of securing a bid in the NCAA Regionals.

IU welcomes struggling Buckeyes

When the IU baseball team opens up its series against Ohio State, it will face a team that has played similar baseball over the last couple of weeks, as both teams have won their mid-week match ups heading into this weekend, and both teams have split their last 10 games. IU is 5-5 in its last 10 games but has won four of its last six after a split with Purdue last weekend and two victories in its last two mid-week games.

Signing off (almost)

I'm so stretched for ideas that I will write my obligatory "goodbye" column a week early. Sure, I will have one more column run next week, but I just can't think of anything else to say right now. I'm also not a senior, but I'm about 99 percent certain I won't be returning to the IDS next year, so I feel entitled to a goodbye. Over the course of writing 29 pieces (30 including this one) for this paper, I learned the following:

I'm too old for this

Do you remember when you were little and your family filled a bunch of bright, plastic Easter eggs and hid them around the house (or maybe the yard) and then you and your siblings/cousins/friends ran around trying to find them?