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Dancesport attracts all types of dance enthusiasts

The doors open, the lights turn on and the glare on the floor resembles gold. One young man walks in wearing designer jeans and his hat tilts to the right. Another young man walks in wearing old track pants and a high school T-shirt. A young woman walks in wearing baby pink velour pants and her hair is in a tight bun below her ears. IU Dancesport brings this diverse group together with a little tango music.

Athletic training students prepare boxes to be sent to Bloomington troops in Iraq

The sound of crinkling paper filled the room as students decorated boxes with pictures and flags. Members of the Student Athletic Training Council decorated collection boxes at the University Gym on Thursday as part of their effort to send care packages to troops in Iraq. The group plans on placing the boxes at strategic locations around Bloomington and the IU campus.

ONE OF A KIND

Student and opera star plans to perform in New York City

A spotlight shot down from the ceiling to the back of the IU Musical Arts Center and the entire audience turned. Figaro, the self-confident and self-loving Barber of Seville, strutted down the aisle distributing fliers and proclaiming his fortune in a booming baritone voice. He literally sang his own praises as he told of his wealth and assured the crowd that he was the most loved citizen of the town.

(Don't) show us your udders, ladies!

"Girls Gone Wild" has been taken over by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Actually, no, it hasn't. But PETA's new anti-dairy campaign, "Milk Gone Wild," is comparable to the videos of young women flashing their breasts on spring break. The ad features a bar, where women lift up their shirts to reveal udders, rather than human breasts, and spray milk out of them to the delight of the male patrons.

Alumna explores eating disorders, body image

March is not just the month of basketball madness, it's also National Women's History Month, a proposed time to appreciate the dedication and perseverance of strong women. In honor of the month, IU alumna Amy Fortoul will perform a one-woman show at 8 p.m. tonight at Rose Firebay in the John Waldron Arts Center. Her performance will expose the harsh realities that many woman face everyday. The piece, "This Is My Body," is a spoken-word performance, which she wrote, directs and performs in.

Football player arrested on suspicion of trespassing, intimidation

IU Police Department officers arrested IU freshman football wide receiver James Bailey early Monday morning under suspicion of trespassing, intimidation and conversion -- a lesser theft charge -- said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from the police report.

And the Oscar Goes To...

Another year at the cineplex has passed. Box office figures might be down, but the quality of cinema we've seen this past year is anything but mediocre. While all the critic circles have handed out their awards and the Golden Globes did the same a month ago, now it all boils down to the 78th Academy Awards. Will "Brokeback Mountain" continue to steamroll over the competition? What if "Crash" overcomes all contenders -- especially after receiving top honors from Screen Actor's Guild? Or maybe "Munich," the latest from Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg, will capture the gold.

Meet the METZ

When Indiana Memorial Union Associate Director Thom Simmons brings guests through the Metz Suite, he likes to tell them it's nothing out of the ordinary. "I do tours of the Union," Simmons said, "and I'll say 'This is just a typical suite on a college campus.'" But the suite, which has eight rooms, takes up the entire top floor of the Union hotel, houses an extravagant collection of expensive artifacts and is open to VIPs only, is anything but typical.

IU awaits election results

During the IU Student Association election debate, Hoosier Vice President of Congress candidate and junior Clark Kaericher said if there's low voter turnout, the fault lies on both tickets for not impassioning the student body to vote. To prevent low turnout, representatives from both tickets, Red Hot and Hoosier, spent Tuesday and Wednesday campaigning across campus. Elections Coordinator Keith Johnson said results from the election will be announced this afternoon.

Anxiety, stress tests offered today

As mid-term exams, spring break and graduation fast approach, the stress and anxiety college students battle every day begins to build. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, the IU Counseling and Psychological Services will offer stress and anxiety screenings in the main lobby of the Herman B Wells Library, the lobby of the education building and in Gresham Food Court. People who attend the screenings can take a pencil and paper test concerning stress. A counselor will then score the test and give feedback on its results. The screenings will be free for anyone on campus and will offer information on how a person can cope with stress and anxiety. "Students should come (to these screenings) because it's important to learn more about the cause of stress, how they can prevent it from becoming a problem and how to cope with it," Chris Meno, a psychologist at CAPS, said. "This screening is really beneficial now because this is the time of year when students really begin to feel overwhelmed."

Behrman case to grand jury

MARTINSVILLE -- Investigators announced they have requested a grand jury inquiry into the May 2000 disappearance of then-IU sophomore Jill Behrman. After nearly six years of investigation by multiple state agencies, Morgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega said in a press conference Wednesday he will present the Behrman case to be heard by a grand jury. The grand jury has the power to subpoena witnesses and require them to testify under oath. Currently, the state has subpoenaed some 90 witnesses in the case, Sonnega said.

IFC introduces 'bring your own beer' plan

To create safer and more responsible atmospheres at parties, the Interfraternity Council has spent more than a year creating the Social Responsibility Policy, which would allow houses to host bring-your-own-beer parties, said Justin Sloan, IFC president. With the policy, people 21 and older could bring six packs to parties, although hard liquor is prohibited. "I know chapters use and serve alcohol during their parties," Sloan said. "The IFC is no longer turning our heads."

Imperfect, but a win

I was really starting to think it'd never happen. After so many terrible performances, I almost gave up. Just when we all thought this season was over, it has been resurrected by a three-game winning streak and -- wait for it -- a Big Ten road win. After beating Purdue 70-59 in West Lafayette last night, the Hoosiers now sit tied for fifth place in the Big Ten at 8-7 and are 16-10 overall. As it stands now, they are an NCAA tournament team -- take a minute to re-read that if you must.

Hoosiers travel to Indy for Big Ten tournament

With the book officially closed on the regular season, the IU women's basketball team (15-12, 9-7) has completed an impressive one-year turnaround. The Hoosiers hope the resurgence continues as they begin Big Ten Tournament play Thursday against Michigan at Conseco Fieldhouse. Last season, the team finished 10-18 overall and 3-13 in the Big Ten before a loss to Wisconsin in the first round of the conference tournament. This season, the Hoosiers claimed five more wins overall and six more in the Big Ten -- a feat that has garnered them the No. 6 seed in the tournament. The seeding is the highest for the Hoosiers since 2002, when, as the No. 5 seed, they became the lowest seeded team to win the tournament.

IU powers past Boilermakers

It took two months, but the Hoosiers finally secured their first road win of 2006. Not since Dec. 31 against Ball State had IU (16-10, 8-7) tasted victory outside of Assembly Hall, but the team bucked that trend with a 45-point second half Wednesday to defeat Purdue 70-59. The Hoosiers trailed by two at halftime, but shot 71 percent in the second period and 75 percent from three to secure the win.

Hire the dinosaur

If stress were a liquid, students would be sponges, green and moist, sitting by the sink at full absorbency in puddles of their own anxiety. Many factors contribute to stress absorption, but trying to break into the career world is a very distinct puddle of stress. Everyone I know, including myself, has been stressing out about internships. I see absorbent sponges everywhere and all I want to do is squeeze out the stress.

License to kill?

This week marks another first in my life. I was the victim of aggravated assault with an automobile. Yes, that's right. My roommate Seth hit me with his freaking car. It was the first time I've ever fallen prey to such a heinous crime. Luckily, I'm going to pull through, but really, this brings up an interesting question: What kind of person hits his roommate with a car? Let me paint the scene for you. It was about 4 o'clock on a beautiful afternoon (perfectly clear visibility, might I point out) and we were coming back from the grocery store. We needed to stop and get the mail, which we hadn't done in about a week (I hear that's a good idea, especially when you're expecting bills).

Thank you, Mr. Sodrel

As a longtime staffer at the Indiana Daily Student, I'm embarrassed to say our newspaper has not yet run a story on Rep. Mike Sodrel's new bill, H.R. 4776, unlike most other papers in this state. Finally Monday, the editorial board decided to break the news to IDS readers on this very page through the form of a staff editorial. Unfortunately, I can't make it to "Ed Board" meetings because I have a Friday class, so I couldn't be there to disagree. And oh boy, do I ever disagree.

Choosing sides

"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality," Dante once said. And I agree after the terrorist attacks last week on Shiite shrines in Samarra, Iraq. Among the dead were not merely morning worshipers or "bystanders," but Iraqis who have entered the fight for the future of their country. And yet, as they continue their liberation struggle, Americans seem to have shed their "can-do" optimism in favor of "can't-do" defeatism. In another time, Americans would engage in this fight at all costs. Today we shudder that doing so might earn us opprobrium for acting "inappropriately."