Community Arts

Super Bull XB: Xtra-boring, Xtra-baloney

Super Bowl Sunday is my favorite American holiday. Would I prefer the Fourth of July? Please, constitutions are overrated. Thanksgiving? I fall asleep before I can make it through my first plate of turkey. Easter? Why would I want to find eggs and then eat them, I don't get it. Hanukkah? The festival of lights brings me no excitement since Edison discovered the light bulb more than 125 years ago. I like my Super Bowls like I like my obese strippers -- oversized, overpriced and with more story lines than a soap opera (but ultimately, I am satisfied). This year's most annoying Super Bowl subplot goes to Jerome "The Bus" Bettis, who was returning "home" to Detroit in his final professional year in football. It was a story beaten worse than the wife in a Lifetime movie.

First-year coach brings winning history, attitude

First-year IU baseball coach Tracy Smith knows how to build a program up from the bottom of a conference. Smith hopes part of that equation includes the addition of two star transfers, the team announced Monday: Tad Reida, a redshirt sophomore from Wichita State University, and Brett Sager, a redshirt freshman from Lousiana State University. "Tad is a 'baseball rat,' and I mean it in a good way," Smith said in a statement. "Brett adds a quality glove for us in the infield."

Get out the gay

It's a dark time for gays. In his State of the Union address last week, President Bush berated activist judges trying to change the definition of marriage for the third year. When your minority is an applause line for a Republican, you know you're on the defensive. I've decided the problem is our minority is too minor: There just aren't enough gays. Unlike gremlins and Catholics, gays can't reproduce naturally. We have to proselytize like Baptists. Therefore, I've spent a lot of time lately thinking about ways to get our recruitment numbers up.

Outrageous outrage

For all the ink the "cartoon crisis" in Europe has generated, there are a few oddities that make the situation weirder than your typical international spat. Some believe the Islamic reaction has been understandable, finding reason in the violence. Others see a cataclysmic collision of liberal democracies and Islam, two wholly incompatible structures, whose values cannot be merged.

Fight night

I walked into my apartment Saturday night at about 1 a.m. after an evening of fun and adventure and locked the door behind me. Five minutes later, the yelling began. Apparently, outside my door a fight over the difference between "bros and hos" was happening. During the intense yelling (it sounded more like a Korn song than actual speech), a girl even tried to force her way into my apartment, but the dead bolt lock succeeded in its task. After that, the fun began.

Full disclosure

The IU board of trustees is currently circulating a plan to improve transparency and efficiency when hiring high-ranking administrators. The multi-point plan calls for, among other changes, the names of finalists to be disclosed to the public. With newly vacated positions in the College of Arts and Sciences and with IU President Adam Herbert's announced intention to leave IU in 2008, we believe such an improvement to the currently flawed search process is imperative for IU to find the best and most qualified person for particular jobs.

Bush sends Congress $2.77 trillion budget

WASHINGTON -- President Bush sent Congress a $2.77 trillion budget plan Monday that would boost spending in the War on Terror but squeeze a wide swath of other government programs to deal with exploding budget deficits. Bush, hoping to get his domestic agenda back on track after a year of political setbacks, unveiled a budget blueprint with a heavy emphasis on keeping the country strong militarily. It would also make his first-term tax cuts permanent, at a cost of $1.4 trillion over 10 years, and still achieve his goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009.

Iran demands IAEA remove cameras, reduce number of nuclear inspections

VIENNA, Austria -- Iran told the International Atomic Energy Agency to remove surveillance cameras and agency seals from sites and nuclear equipment by the end of next week, the U.N. watchdog agency said Monday. Iran's demands came two days after the IAEA reported Tehran to the Security Council over its disputed atomic program. The council has the power to impose economic and political sanctions. In a confidential report to the IAEA's 35-member board, agency head Mohamed ElBaradei said Iran also announced a sharp reduction in the number and kind of inspections IAEA experts will be allowed, effective immediately. The report was dated Monday and made available to The Associated Press. The moves were expected. Iranian officials had repeatedly warned they would stop honoring the so-called "Additional Protocol" to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty -- an agreement giving IAEA inspectors greater inspecting authority -- if the IAEA board referred their country to the Security Council.

Moussaoui jury selection begins

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Proclaiming "I am al-Qaida," Zacarias Moussaoui disavowed his lawyers Monday and pledged to testify on his own behalf in the trial that will determine whether he is executed for terrorist conspiracy. An often volatile figure in his proceedings, Moussaoui was removed from the courtroom during the opening of jury selection for speaking out of turn, each of the three times he appeared. "I want to be heard," he demanded. Of his lawyers, he said: "These people do not represent me."

Gonzales defends Bush's wiretapping program during committee hearing

WASHINGTON -- Senators raised doubts about the legal rationale for the Bush administration's eavesdropping program Monday, forcing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to provide a lengthy defense of the operations he called a vital "early warning system" for terrorists. A handful of Republicans joined Democrats in raising questions about whether President Bush went too far in ordering the National Security Agency's monitoring operations. The senators were particularly troubled by the administration's argument that a September 2001 congressional resolution approving use of military force covered the surveillance of some domestic communications.

Caricature protests turn deadly as unrest, anger spreads

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan troops opened fire on demonstrators Monday, leaving at least four people dead, while Iranian police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters hurling stones and firebombs at the Danish Embassy in Tehran, Iran, as anger mounted over the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Police had encircled the walled brick villa housing the Danish mission in the Iranian capital, but the crowd of about 400 protesters ignored orders to break up, only running into a nearby park after tear gas was fired. Earlier in the day, 200 student demonstrators threw stones at the Austrian Embassy, breaking some windows and starting small fires.

Students donate plasma to earn extra money, aid those in need

If students could get paid for sitting in a cozy chair, listening to music and doing homework for an hour or two, they would, right? BioLife Plasma Services in Bloomington is a center devoted entirely to plasma donation. It offers donors $20 for one donation in a seven-day period, and $30 for the second donation in that period. There is a limit of two donations per week, with at least one day in between each of those visits. There must be at least 48 hours between donations, but the body replaces plasma removed during the donation process quickly, according to the BioLife Web site. "The reason why they're willing to pay so much for (plasma) is because there's so much of a human need for it," said Omar Faiz, the manager of BioLife. "It's vital for life for some people."

Free testing to be offered for AIDS Awareness Week

AIDS Awareness Week 2006 began yesterday, sponsored by the IU Health Center, Bloomington Hospital Positive Link and the IU Student Global AIDS Campaign (IUSGAC). The groups look to provide educational programs to IU students about HIV and AIDS. Information, condoms and red ribbons will be available at the Indiana Memorial Union until Feb. 14. Tuesday, free and anonymous HIV screening tests will be available in the Dogwood Room of the IMU from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Anne Reese, director of Health & Wellness Education at the IU Health Center, said "the free screening during AIDS Awareness Week is intended to raise awareness and provide information (to students) about (HIV) testing." The free testing is an "advance rapid testing," an oral swab test that provides students with results in 20 minutes.

Intruders attack, rob 2 men in home

Two Bloomington men reported they were robbed and attacked by four or five male intruders in their home early Sunday morning. The victims reported that the perpetrators entered through the back door of their home on the 1200 block of North Washington Street at about 2 a.m. and assaulted them, said Bloomington Police Department Captain Joe Qualters, reading from the police report. Officers met with the victims at Bloomington Hospital. According to the report, one of the residents, 22, suffered dislocated shoulder, while the other resident, 23, had small lacerations, swelling to his face and a cut on his ankle.

House shoots down gaming proposals

The General Assembly has again rejected a proposal to install slot machines at Indiana's two racetracks. Under House Bill 1077, drafted by state Rep. Eric Gutwein, R-Rensselaer, tax revenues generated from the slots would have been funneled into county governments to ease property taxes. Under the plan, licensing fees and a 32 percent wager tax would have brought in $292 million to the state along with more than $157 million annually, according to a press release from Gutwein's office. The legislation would have annually distributed $500,000 earmarked for tax relief to all non-gaming counties and $25 million to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture to further economic development.

Facing NFL withdrawal

As the clock ticked to zero during the Super Bowl XL Sunday evening, some fans shrugged their shoulders and sighed in disbelief, wondering what competitive activities might occupy their Sundays for the next five months. A variety of games and competitions around town offer competitive or recreational play. From bowling to fishing to board games, people can get their professional football fix from other, less violent sports. Julie D'Argent, a graduate student and Back Alley employee, said bowling and billiards offer both fun and competition.

Police arrest man after disturbance at Read Center

IU Police Department officers arrested a student early Saturday morning who, according to the police report, was causing a disturbance, yelling obscenities and spitting on residents of Read Center. Officers responded to the call Saturday at about 2 a.m., said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from the police report. He said the complainant gave them a description of the man, but officers ended up leaving the residence hall because they were unable to locate the suspect.

IU ranks 14th in number of Peace Corps volunteers

It was 2001 and Rachel Price was thousands of miles away from home. She was living in a new place -- a rural village on the Pacific coast of Panama -- helping teach environmental science to grade-school children while working to conserve sea turtles. She was with new people and engaging in new experiences. And she says it was all worth it. A graduate student in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Price was working with the Peace Corps, an organization that sends American volunteers around the world to work in developing countries. "I think it was amazing to live and be a part of a different culture and to be able to share my culture with them. That was probably the best part about it -- just the cultural exchange," she said.

WHERE ON CAMPUS IS THIS?

Lecture to tackle ideas on social equality

Some will be scared. Some will be offended. But Brandon Wilson believes all cultures and ethnicities will benefit if they "step out of their box." Wilson, a speaker for the Southern Poverty Law Center, will present "Ten Ways to Fight Hate on Campus" at 7 p.m. tonight at the Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union. "We are thrilled to have someone from the Southern Poverty Law Center here to do this nationally recognized program," said Eric Love, IU's director of diversity education. Ten Ways to Fight Hate on Campus, a program founded by Wilson, will focus on changing university administrators' and students' thoughts about social equality.