Region

IU/NYC performers collaborate for performance

By Lindsey Landis · Thursday, March 30,2006 1:10 a.m.

In a small rehearsal room in the Musical Arts Center Tuesday night, a group of seven strangely-clad people met to practice their arias and dance steps for their upcoming performance. They wore a mixture of street clothes, dance shoes and bits of fancy petticoats and headdresses. The elaborate costumes, lilting melodies and fluid motions are all parts of baroque period culture. This Sunday, thanks to a grant from IU's New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities program, the Early Music Institute will be sponsoring a performance featuring the IU Baroque Orchestra and the New York Baroque Dance Company. The production will be at 8 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater and admission is free. The first half of the program will showcase the New York Baroque Dance Company with two dance numbers, and the second half will feature several IU students in the baroque opera "Pygmalion." The IU Baroque Orchestra will provide the music for the entire show, said Catherine Turocy, co-founder and artistic director of the NYBDC.

Vases and mad orgies: sexual expression varies with culture

By Alyson Brodsy and Lindsey Landis · Thursday, March 30,2006 1:09 a.m.

They have to be requested from the librarians at the Fine Arts Library. You can only look at two at a time and only in their reading room. Their pages are full of sexually explicit and implicit paintings, sketches and photographs that range from the highly amusing to the intensely arousing. No, I'm not talking about Hustler, Penthouse or Playboy. The pages I perused earlier this week belonged to the books of IU's erotic art collection.

Rockin' in the NCAA: John Mellencamp to put on free Final Four concert

By Alyson Brodsy and Jenny Montgomery · Thursday, March 30,2006 1:07 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Growing up near Indiana University, John Mellencamp couldn't help but become a big college basketball fan. So big, in fact, that as part of the NCAA's Final Four weekend here he's headlining a free outdoor concert Sunday -- one expected to draw up to 100,000 people. Mellencamp, whose "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." is featured in commercials promoting this year's NCAA tournament, agreed to perform largely because of his relationship with former IU president Myles Brand, who now heads the NCAA.

QUESTIONS

By Eamonn Brennan · Thursday, March 30,2006 1 a.m.

When IU fans in Assembly Hall's east stands got their first glimpse of their new basketball coach Wednesday, they saw him walk onto Branch McCracken court behind seven current IU players. D.J. White was among them. Robert Vaden was not. With new IU coach Kelvin Sampson's coronation came more questions about the future plans of Hoosier sophomores White and Vaden, questions that were largely left unanswered at Sampson's introduction.

INFRACTIONS

By Sam Nissen · Thursday, March 30,2006 1 a.m.

The pressure is on IU's new coach to revitalize Hoosier basketball tradition. "Good or bad -- we're all known for something," said new coach Kelvin Sampson at Wednesday's press conference. "And that something is going to be your identity." But trying to put IU's best foot forward might start with Sampson taking the Hoosiers a step backward. Sampson and his staff made too many phone calls per week to recruits, he said, violating an NCAA rule. Making such a mistake shocked the coach into evaluating University of Oklahoma basketball program's commitment to complete compliance with the NCAA.

Arnesen captures ITT

By Chris Engel · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:39 a.m.

After setting the record at Individual Time Trials last year, Alpha Tau Omega rider Hans Arnesen failed to complete a quarter of a lap before his chain broke in the first spring series event of the season. Clearly disgusted with his bike, Arnesen slammed his Schwinn into the outer fence of Bill Armstrong Stadium as his fellow riders completed their trial. When Arnesen took the track two hours later, neither his chain nor the other riders would deny the senior his second ITT title in a row. Arnesen's time of 2 minutes, 17.7 seconds edged out Cutter rider Alex Bishop's time of 2:20.7 for first place.

Hoosiers drop final Big Ten tune up

By Jake Brown and Jacob Brown · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:38 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The IU baseball team faltered in its final game before conference play, falling 6-5 to Butler after holding a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth. The Bulldogs (9-12) used their home-field advantage and battled back late in the game for the win, dropping the Hoosiers to 7-11 overall. "To me there is no solace in one-run losses," IU coach Tracy Smith said. "Good teams win close games, and we have go to start winning them." The Hoosiers' hopes of winning began to dwindle away after the first two hitters in Butler's lineup reached base off IU reliever Tyler Tufts. With runners on first and third and no outs, Tufts induced a ground ball double play off the bat of Clayton Deeb, allowing a run in the process. Butler's Stephen Gill then followed with a single, and Josh Brown reached on an error from IU's Keith Haas. Butler's Tony Barnes continued the hitting spree with a single, tying the game at five. The Bulldogs' Joe Pauley ended the game with a shot to the right-center field gap, scoring Brown.

Reaction: Sampson good choice

By Matt Mattucci · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:36 a.m.

During IU's search for a new men's basketball coach, Kelvin Sampson's name wasn't plastered on headlines or message board walls. Fans speculated about a list of potential candidates, but the former University of Oklahoma coach's moniker was rarely mentioned. When reports surfaced Tuesday saying Sampson was bound for IU, fans and columnists criticized the decision and spoke out negatively against him. But when the University announced Sampson as its 26th men's basketball coach Wednesday, Hoosier nation decided to speak out again -- this time with words of encouragement and praise for the new head coach.

Bogado extinguishes Flames in win

By Chris Sauer · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:33 a.m.

For the IU softball team, the day started off well and ended even better. The team swept its doubleheader against the University of Illinois-Chicago with wins of 6-2 and 9-2. Riding an impressive streak of 11-3 in their past 14 games, the team will look to harness that momentum as they head into Big Ten conference play. "We feel excited," senior Mariangee Bogado said. "We are ready to play and get some more wins." Bogado had a big day for the Hoosiers in the first game against UIC. The senior threw a complete game with six strikeouts to extinguish the Flames and hold them to just two runs. But, Bogado was not finished.

Get on the bus or just stay home

By Ryan Phillips · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:32 a.m.

OK that's it, I'm tired of all this negativity. I'm fed up with fans who claim to be loyal but constantly bash their beloved team. I'm over all of your e-mails, phone calls and Facebook messages telling me how horrible I am for backing my soon-to-be alma mater. Plain and simple, I'm tired of a large number of people who claim to be part of "the Hoosier Nation." And I know I'm not the only one.

Immigration bills, bills, bills

By Felipe Maya · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:29 a.m.

Can you imagine a future where colossal concrete walls lines the U.S. borders and, in fear of economic contamination, immigrants are chased out like invading bacteria?

Let me see your grill

By Alyson Brodsy and Joanna Borns · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:28 a.m.

"I got my mouth looking something like a disco ball. I got the diamonds and the ice all handset. I might cause a cold front if I take a deep breath." These are the words of hip-hop artist Pall Wall featured in Nelly's latest single "Grillz." Gold teeth go beyond just crowns. I was aware that platinum teeth, diamond teeth and general tooth jewelry existed. However, when I heard this song about teeth on the radio, I knew the concept of "bling bling" decorating the "grill" was becoming more prominent in our culture.

In defense of the drink

By Alyson Brodsy and Brian Stewart · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:27 a.m.

I attended high school in Europe, so serious drinking is nothing new to me. In this way, Winston Churchill was much like me: Upon being told by Ibn Saud that the king's religious beliefs forbade the use of tobacco and liquor, the great man didn't hesitate to point out "that my rule of life prescribes as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after and, if need be, during all meals and in the intervals between them."

Laugh it up, Lenin

By Alyson Brodsy and Adam Sedia · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:26 a.m.

This past weekend, I did two important things: study for a biochemistry exam and fill out my taxes. And let me tell you, biochemistry is far less ambiguous, complicated and frustrating than the tax code, so much so that I'd choose reviewing RNA-polymerase catalysis over number-crunching any day, even to get a refund. I have a nagging suspicion that Vladimir Lenin is in hell having a good laugh that the United States, the land of economic opportunity, has this Byzantine progressive tax code, one of whose goals is income redistribution. But is this what taxes were designed to do?

Got a major?

By Alyson Brodsy and Amy Obermeyer · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:25 a.m.

Raise your hand if you know what you want to do with the rest of your life. And raise your hand again if you've had the same major since matriculation. Finally, keep that hand up if you've known what that major was going to be since you were 14. Now look around, and realize that if your hand is raised, you're probably in the minority, which is why I'm more than a little ambivalent about Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's proposal that would require all incoming freshmen at Florida high schools to declare a major. He hopes that his proposal will lower drop-out rates and claims that "it's a really smart way to make high school more relevant and prepare young people for what college will hold."

Lap of luxury?

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:24 a.m.

Some University of Memphis law students are mad as hell, and they're not going to take this injustice sitting down. But if they do take it sitting down, you better believe they're going to have their laptop computers open and ready to furiously instant message each other. June Entman, a professor of law at Memphis, sent an e-mail to her first-year law students March 6 telling them to bring pens and paper to take notes. By attempting to regulate the way her classroom is run (imagine the nerve!), she simultaneously joined the ranks of many professors nationwide who are hitting control-alt-delete on student laptops, which they consider distracting in their classes. "My main concern was (the students) were focusing on trying to transcribe every word that was I saying, rather than thinking and analyzing," Entman very reasonably told the Associated Press Monday.

U.N. Security Council agrees on Iran statement

By Alyson Brodsy and Nick Wadhams · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:19 a.m.

UNITED NATIONS -- The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council agreed on a statement Wednesday demanding that Iran suspend uranium enrichment, setting the stage for the first action by the powerful body over fears that Tehran wants a nuclear weapon. The 15 members of the council planned to meet later Wednesday to approve the statement, the text of which was not immediately disclosed. Uranium enrichment is a process that can lead to a nuclear weapon.

Former lobbyist sentenced to 5 years in federal prison

By Alyson Brodsy and Curt Anderson · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:18 a.m.

MIAMI -- Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a business partner were sentenced Wednesday to five years and 10 months in federal prison, the minimum they faced for fraud related to their 2000 purchase of the SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet. Abramoff and Adam Kidan both pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud, but they won't have to report to prison immediately. The judge postponed their reporting date for at least 90 days so the two can continue cooperating in a Washington corruption investigation and a Florida probe into the killing of former SunCruz owner Konstantinos Boulis. Both deny roles in the killing. Abramoff pleaded guilty in connection with the corruption probe but has yet to be sentenced.

Attempted rapist report unresolved

By Audrie Garrison · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:15 a.m.

Bloomington police are looking for a man who they believe entered a woman's apartment late Tuesday night and attempted to rape her at knife-point. The 21-year-old woman said in a police report that she returned to her apartment south of downtown Bloomington, at about 11 p.m. Tuesday and unlocked her front door while she waited for her boyfriend, said BPD Captain Joe Qualters. She said she then went to take a shower.

Non-American parents lose child's aid

By Michael Sanserino · Thursday, March 30,2006 12:13 a.m.

An Elkhart County high school senior, who had participated in the 21st Century Scholars Program since she was in seventh grade, won't receive a scholarship from the state of Indiana, not because she lacked the necessary grades but because her parents lacked U.S. citizenship. In turn, the senior has summoned the help of the Indiana branch of the American Civil Liberties Union and is now suing. The girl, called "E.C." in the ACLU's brief, was born in the United States and is a citizen, as outlined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The ACLU contends E.C. is as deserving of the scholarship as other citizens whose parents have U.S. citizenship.