Community Arts

IU-Purdue rivalry more than just a game

Coming to the end

One year ago, senior Austin Starr was Bloomington’s hero. Back then, Hoosiers everywhere rejoiced when the then-junior sent a 49-yard field goal through the uprights in the season’s penultimate moment. His celebrated kick sent the Hoosiers to their first bowl berth since 1993 and seemingly revitalized the program. But now, in a downtrodden year marked by disappointment, Starr and his team have sunk back to the bottom of the Big Ten. But they’ll get one last shot at redemption Saturday. “It is kind of surreal, but it hasn’t gone too fast,” Starr said, reflecting on his upcoming final game. “I’ve been taking it in.” Injuries and inconsistencies have plagued the 2008 Hoosiers, and Starr is no exception. A nagging hip injury prohibited him from putting up the same performance throughout his senior campaign that he displayed as a junior. A year ago, Starr kicked 21-of-23 field goals, hit all 48 extra points and, at one point, nailed 15 field goals in a row.

Closing up the cracks

Getting into college certainly involves putting yourself out there.As most of us neared our final year of high school we sent out massive amounts of personal information in search of a college acceptance letter, as well as some student aid. Now, to track down potential fraud or misuse, the Department of Education’s inspector general’s office plans to create a new central database of computer records that it hopes will help the office do a better job of detecting waste and abuse in government programs, according to an article published Wednesday in the Chronicle of Higher Education.Given the large amounts of personal information we have sent out searching for that one extra scholarship, grant or student loan, this might seem a little disturbing. In fact, several higher-education lobbying groups are objecting to this new initiative on privacy grounds.

Thinking big

When Sen. John Edwards came to IU last Tuesday, he shared what he felt should be a top priority for the president-elect: presenting a clear vision for America. It made perfect sense to me – just as a leader has to present a vision for his team, an individual also must have a strong vision of his goals to attain them. You are only as successful as what you envision yourself to be. The problem, then, is how to cultivate that vision. The answer, I learned, is not that simple. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Alan Greenspan demonstrated how he had an innate inquisitiveness to understand how the world works. For Greenspan, he had a never-ending quest to acquire a broad view of life in general.

Skip your blessings

This Thanksgiving, let us all bow our heads before digging into our turkey and fixings and think about what we are most thankful for. Chances are, for a lot of us, being with our families ranks up there around the top of the list. For some, of course, low introductory APRs, Thirsty Thursdays and the “Twilight” movie might be competitive this year, but the majority of us go for the family. There is certainly good reason for this choice. For most of us, our families represent home, shelter and a helping hand. But this year, I think it might do us all a little good to be just as thankful for what we don’t have. Many students here at IU are too far from home to travel back for Thanksgiving. I’ve never been in that predicament, but I witnessed a similar experience in high school. My family hosted a foreign exchange student who couldn’t see her family for any major holidays for a year. She was disappointed, of course, but I couldn’t help thinking how rewarding the next holiday spent with her family would be.

Homelessness Awareness Week ends

Mayor Mark Kruzan only had $21 to spend on food this week.

Mono and me

Last week I missed most of my classes because I couldn’t find the energy required to put on shoes. Also, I was talking like I had a baseball lodged in my throat. By the time I made it to the health center, I felt as weak and defenseless as a needy young child and was behaving accordingly. “Is it going to hurt?” I whined, pulling my arm away from the nurse who was about to take my blood.

19-year-old shot early Thursday

A Bloomington teen has been arrested and faces preliminary charges of attempted murder.

Red Cross to teach pet first aid

Have you ever wondered how to give CPR to your cat?

Democrats for the rich

Barack Obama is against giving tax breaks to those earning six digits, but he supports giving billions in bailouts to corporations bringing in 12 digits. While it’s true that George W. Bush and John McCain wrongly supported the financial bailout, Obama’s plan to extend the bailout to automakers is a wasteful expansion. The purpose of the bailout was to get the entire economy turned around, not reward a few powerful industries. With their lobbying clout, however, the automakers will get bailed out when Obama takes office. Herein lies one of the problems of the original bailout: If you give one thing to one interest group, you must give it to everyone. Bush said on March 14 that he was against any massive government intervention. 

Plane forced to land in Bloomington field

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a private aircraft whose pilot had to make an emergency landing in Monroe County on Thursday morning.

Bloomington teen faces attempted murder charge

A Bloomington teen has been arrested and faces preliminary charges of attempted murder.

Congo rebels appear to pull back

Rebels appeared to be pulling back as promised Wednesday in an area home to some of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas, offering some hope that Congo’s latest war may be easing.

Student bonfire blamed for wildfire

A group of college students who lit a ridge-top bonfire are being accused of accidentally sparking one of a trio of once-ferocious wildfires that collectively destroyed about 1,000 homes and blacked more than 65 square miles.

Ark. seizes 20 more children from Alamo group accused of abuse

Stories of alleged beatings and sexual abuse prompted Arkansas child-welfare officials to take custody of  about 20 more children associated with the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, an official said Wednesday.

Manning finds his groove as season hits midpoint

INDIANAPOLIS – Peyton Manning watches the last three games and sees progress. Not perfection, but at least he and the Colts are beginning to play like their old selves. Manning is throwing more touchdowns, fewer interceptions, avoiding sacks and winning games with his masterful play-calling. He’s spreading the ball around, opening up running lanes with passes and, yes, he’s finally in sync with the receivers. Memo to the NFL: Manning is back. “The way they’ve played the last three weeks, it looks like Indianapolis to me,” San Diego coach Norv Turner said Wednesday. “To do what they did against Pittsburgh, I was awfully impressed with that.” The Colts’ recent turnabout has forced critics, who not long ago were immersed in finding faults, to reassess their viewpoints. Suddenly, Manning is playing like a two-time league MVP and his team has taken the cue.

Music school professor to play with Indianapolis orchestra

For the first time ever, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra will grace the Musical Arts Center stage for a concert conducted by Maestro Mario Venzago on Sunday.

U.K. to crack down on sex trade in “name and shame” campaign

The British government announced plans Wednesday to make it illegal to pay for sex with women forced into prostitution and to name men who solicit sex on the streets – measures that prostitutes say will put more women at risk.

Bowl slate might be tapped

NEW YORK – After years of relentless expansion, college football’s nearly monthlong holiday party – the bowl season – finally seems to have maxed out. Those involved in the bowl business say that, with the national economy flailing, events which are as much about tourism and corporate sponsorship as football now are staring at a set of challenges that will level off the number of second-tier bowls, if not reduce them. There are a lot of second-tier bowls to choose from. “We’re talking about disposable income, and that’s drying up as fast as water in the desert,” said Paul Hoolahan, chairman of the Football Bowl Association and CEO of the Sugar Bowl. The bowl roster now stands at 34, giving 68 teams the opportunity to play a nationally televised game and be pampered by the host community. That’s more than half of the 119 schools playing college football at its highest level. The NCAA has been liberally licensing new bowls in recent years. Since 2002, 11 new bowl games have been established, while only three have closed up shop. Two games will debut this season, the EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C., and the St. Petersburg Bowl in central Florida.

NFL drops the ball

The NFL has dropped the ball this season more times than Colts receivers did in their first quarter last week. This NFL season has been in shambles and none of it has to do with the players. Fines have turned the game soft, officials have made wrong calls and Vegas is suffering because of it all. This past Sunday, the second big officiating botch of the season (the first being Ed Hochuli’s forward pass mistake in Week 2) caused hundreds of thousands of dollars to change hands.