Region

Inexperience rules in the back of the pack

Inexperienced competitors can be a big influence on the outcome of a sporting event, and the Little 500 is no exception. The back of the men's field is where much of the inexperience for this year's Little 500 is placed. 23 of the 34 riders in the final three rows are rookie competitors.

Super Bowl not so super

How did the Super Bowl get its name? Apparently, calling it the Spectacle of Gluttony sounded unwieldy and calling it the NFL Championship Game would not allow for all the hype. The Teflon Bowl would make sense. After all, no matter how many boring, lopsided Super Bowls are played, this game remains a national attraction and something of an unofficial national holiday. The holiday does not celebrate football; it celebrates a gross, classically American sense of excess. If it were any cheesier, they would have 'N Sync, Britney Spears and Aerosmith lip-sync the halftime show. Uh, oops. Speaking of halftime, while the game is on Fox, NBC plans on breaking from its regular programming during the game's intermission to broadcast a special edition of Fear Factor featuring Playboy playmates.

Extra! Mainstream media exposed!

Did you know that the United States is one of the world's leading manufacturers and exporters of torture devices? Ever heard of ECHELON, the U.S. National Security Agency's system for monitoring and tracking e-mail, telephone and telex communications? No, you say? Well, there's a reason for that. It's called self-censorship.

'And with the 11th pick of the 2002 NBA draft, the Washington Wizards select...' Jared Jeffries

The dream has come true. Former IU star Jared Jeffries was selected No. 11 by the Washington Wizards in the 2002 NBA Draft Wednesday night in New York City. "All my life, I've (dreamed) to hear my name called for the NBA Draft," Jeffries said when he announced his decision to go pro.

Weezer's 'Weezer' proves a pleaser

Weezer's back. In the nearly five-year absence since the release of the greatly misunderstood Pinkerton album, there has been very little in the way of good rock music being released. Pure rock fans have been forgotten in the tide of boy bands and watered-down pop. But, have no fear rock fans, Weezer is here. After fighting Rivers Cuomo's creative block, Weezer has returned with the highly anticipated Weezer (The Green Album). With the album's first single "Hash Pipe" tearing up rock radio, the world has learned what many have known for a while: Weezer is a good rock band. Their lyrics might not be the most creative, and they might dress like the "Dungeons and Dragons" nerds that they are, but their musical sense is undeniable.

Pollock

Ed Harris' directorial debut is also one of the best acting performances of his career, as he portrays the late Jackson Pollock, a drunk, manic-depressive and one of the finest artists of his time.

Fees are unfair

I find it hard to believe the Student Recreational Sports Center (SRSC) and the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) are short on funds during the summer months. Of course I realize employees need to be paid, facilities need to be managed, etc., but each year nearly 36,000 students at IU, who are enrolled in three or more credit hours, pay a $117.74 activity fee where $37.46 of that is routed directly to RecSports. That's a whopping $1,348,560. You can't tell me a business that makes over a million each year up-front, whose services aren't necessarily even used by the consumers, isn't making a decent profit. Besides, it seems as if the majority of the classes offered have extra fees attached.

Professor honored by Carnegie Foundation

IU biology professor Craig Nelson was honored earlier this month by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for his research project on how to foster and assess critical thinking in evolutionary biology courses. At the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL), Nelson was one of 40 professors nationwide chosen from a pool of more than 120 applicants whose project was recognized by CASTL. More specifically, Nelson's project is "continuing his efforts to foster and promote both cognitive development and intellectual achievement. To evaluate the extent to which his approach is working, he is assessing cognitive development and the students' acceptance of evolution and their relationship to learning (measured as grades)," according to CFAT's press release.

Write now or pay later

Once again, the University is in an uncomfortable financial situation. Indiana Gov. Frank O'Bannon recently announced a budget plan that would cut an additional $10 million from the University's state budget allocation, bringing the total cuts to IU in this two-year period to about $100 million.

IU Mail Services issues alerts

As 145 million postcards from the United States Postal Service arrive at every American household warning citizens about suspicious mail, IU Mail Services is doing its part to keep IU students, and their letters and packages, safe.

Help save the rate freeze

Last year during the Knight riots, I remember thinking to myself that students' opinion of the administration had nowhere left to go but up. Then came a 7.5 percent tuition hike and calls for a huge downscaling in athletic prominence. Was the administration trying to hurt its image on purpose? It sure seemed like it.

City announces parks renovations

The city's Parks and Recreation Department announced the start of several park renovation projects Friday. It sold a $6.2 million general obligation bond funding the facility improvements to the Dain Rauscher investment group Thursday.

High Times

2,500 turn out for first gay pride parade in the holy city of Jerusalem

JERUSALEM -- Under heavy police guard, about 2,500 people marched Friday in the first gay pride parade in this holy city, despite fierce opposition from Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders.

Quiet, please!

'Bike' musicians ride more than a decade of friendship

In kindergarten, Mike Reed met Travis Dopp. Their new friendship was not cemented by crayons and action figures, but rather by a small Matchbox car.

Former phish shares his dream

The voice of the people

There is a long-standing tradition in American society that the press serves as the watchdog for the people, seeking out injustice and exposing it to the light of truth. However, the press occasionally oversteps its bounds and commits the same villainy it is obliged to overcome.

Information not retaliation

The United States has undoubtedly experienced an act of war in the form of terrorist attacks on both the Pentagon and World Trade Center. In war, retaliation is a necessity. But the decision that will soon confront American leadership is what will happen once our goals have been met. The destruction of the Taliban and al Qaeda will not destroy terrorism, it will destroy terrorists. Terrorism exists because of ignorance and misunderstanding. To perpetuate acts of war on ignorant populations will result in the conversion of a new generation of orphaned children ready to revitalize the cause the U.S. now sets out to destroy.

Elizabeth Dole to speak

Elizabath Dole will share her vision for America with IU students at 4 p.m. today in the IU Auditorium. The former presidential candidate and once president of the American Red Cross will give a lecture entitled, "An America We Can Be," and will then answer questions from the audience that were sent via e-mail.