Community Arts

Top British murderer commits suicide

By Alyson Brodsy and Beth Gardiner · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:47 p.m.

LONDON -- The once-respected family doctor who became Britain's worst serial killer was found hanged in his prison cell Tuesday, cheating his victims' relatives of the one consolation they had hoped for -- an explanation of his 23-year murder spree. Officials are investigating why there was no suicide watch on Dr. Harold Shipman, who was convicted in 2000 of killing 15 patients and later was found to have murdered at least 200 more, mostly by lethal injection. He always maintained his innocence.

Ohio Muslim leader arrested

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:46 p.m.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A prominent Islamic clergyman was arrested Tuesday on charges he concealed his links to anti-Israeli terrorist groups when he applied for U.S. citizenship a decade ago, officials said. Imam Fawaz Mohammed Damrah, who leads the Islamic Center of Cleveland, Ohio's largest mosque, withheld information on his membership or affiliation with several groups, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, U.S. Attorney Gregory White said.

Airliner caught in fog crashes near Uzbek capital

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:46 p.m.

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- A domestic airliner crashed Tuesday approaching the airport in Uzbekistan's capital, the Interior Ministry said. At least 36 people, including the top U.N. official for Uzbekistan were aboard, and no survivors were reported. The plane was an Uzbekistan Airways Yakovlev-40 en route from Termez, in the country's far south along the Afghanistan border, said an Interior Ministry duty officer who declined to give his name. He gave no further details.

Americas agree to support free trade zone

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:44 p.m.

MONTERREY, Mexico -- Leaders from 34 American nations agreed Tuesday to support a hemisphere-wide trade area without setting a firm deadline, a concession to Brazil and Venezuela. The United States had sought a 2005 deadline for the Free Trade Area of the Americas in the summit's final declaration. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez instead pushed for a humanitarian fund that could be used to help countries during financial and natural disasters, but said he would sign the document with reservations.

Military accused of war crimes

By Alyson Brodsy and Jim Krane · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:43 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A top human rights group accused the U.S. military of committing war crimes by demolishing homes of suspected insurgents and arresting the relatives of Iraqi fugitives Tuesday. The military denied the charges by Human Rights Watch, saying it only destroyed homes that were being used to store weapons, or as fighting positions, adding all Iraqis detained were suspected of taking part in attacks on coalition forces.

Social security scare

By Chris Hintz · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:39 p.m.

I have been having a reocurring nightmare lately. I am several years older, living in perfect domestic bliss with my wife and kids -- and maybe even a couple golden retrievers. One day, as we sit down for a nice meatloaf dinner, the doorbell rings. I open it to find my elderly parents standing on my doorstep -- with suitcases. They're moving in! I wake up screaming. But what does it all mean? Unfortunately, I am starting to wonder if this may be a disturbingly accurate premonition.

The grownups' table

By Brian Matzke · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:37 p.m.

A face looks at me with recognition as it pokes out of a neat suit and tie that looks cute on a person so short, and I suppress a cringe as I anticipate what's coming next. "Matzke!" he says with a smile so big I'm afraid it will pop the whiteheads on his cheeks. This face is far too young to belong to someone who is my junior by only two or three years. This past weekend, I agreed to judge a speech meet for my high school forensics team. My reputation preceded me, thanks to the propaganda of my former coach, but the faces around me were strangers with braces and without the ability to vote. Between judging, I sat among them in the cafeteria, wolfing down an overpriced slice of cold pizza while it was still too early for a sane person to be awake.

The last dance

By Phil Kijak · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:35 p.m.

A wise man once said, "Tomorrow never knows." It's impossible to start the last semester of your college career without a bit of romanticism. We've been conditioned to fear what comes next -- that inevitable humdrum of the real world that allegedly hits us like a bucket of water on a partied-out best friend. Yet, when you're stuck in your hometown for the last time during winter break, you find the time to contemplate what has been and what will be.

What A Rush

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:49 a.m.

Women's recruitment might last for days, but the experience can last a lifetime.

IU senior named Mitchell Scholar

By Holly Johnson and Holy Johnson · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:21 a.m.

IU senior Paul Musgrave has had a busy year. Between compiling research on Herman B Wells' contributions to the Indiana banking industry, completing honors theses in history and political science and founding an alternative student online newspaper, the Wells Scholar and Evansville native managed to achieve basic proficiency in three languages and prepare for an upcoming semester in Shanghai, China.

Brand wants integrity reasserted

By Alex Hickey · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:18 a.m.

Against a backdrop of college bowl games sponsored by everything from cell phones to auto parts stores, NCAA President Myles Brand sent out a warning that the collegiate model of athletics as we know it will continue to see itself challenged by commercialism. Brand told delegates at the 98th annual NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, he wanted to reassert the integrity and value of college sports. He warned that Division I schools, as well as those in Divisions II and III, are vulnerable to being too much like pro franchises by allowing athletics to become separate from the rest of the university. "Intercollegiate athletics is not a freestanding, wholly autonomous enterprise. We have seen the type of drift to the professional model that will diminish, and in the long run will eliminate the value of the program to its university," Brand said. Though Brand believes that professional sports has an important role in soceity, he warned that "college sports must not be allowed to be drawn to the professional model like a moth drawn to a flame."

Israel builds wall to encircle Jerusalem

By Alyson Brodsy and Ravi Nessman · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:16 a.m.

ABU DIS, West Bank -- With the thud of tons of concrete hitting soft earth, Israel worked Monday to build a 25-foot-tall wall on the edge of Jerusalem, signaling that Israel's encirclement of the city is becoming permanent. The wall, running down the center of a main road in the Palestinian neighborhood of Abu Dis, separates thousands of residents from Jerusalem, a city they consider home.

Residence hall graffiti dominates harassment complaints

By Chris Freiberg and Warren Christopher Freiberg · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:15 a.m.

Someone, perhaps maliciously, perhaps not knowing the impact it would have, scrawled the words "Nazi's rule" on a residence hall wall last year. The graffiti was reported to the Racial Incidents Team, which, along with the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Anti-Harassment Team, assists students who have been victims of discrimination based on race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or gender.

High oil, natural gas prices investigated

By Alyson Brodsy and Brad Foss · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:15 a.m.

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission and the New York Mercantile Exchange said Friday they have stepped up their surveillance of natural gas trading in the past week and industry sources said traders' telephone records have been subpoenaed as part of that effort. CFTC officials visited the trading pit this week, an employee of one New York-based trading firm that was subpoenaed said Friday. "They didn't give any specific indication that they're targeting a specific trade, a specific trader or a specific (trading) house," said the employee, speaking on condition of anonymity. R. David Gary, a spokesman for the CFTC in Washington, said the agency has increased surveillance because of recent volatility and high prices of natural gas trading activity on Nymex since the start of the month. But, as a matter of policy, he said the agency would neither confirm nor deny the existence of any formal investigation. Nymex spokeswoman Nachamah Jacobovits said the focus of the scrutiny is to "make sure that futures prices are reflective of what's happening on cash markets and that there's no manipulation."

Soldier discusses his time in Iraq

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:14 a.m.

KOKOMO -- Of all the care packages Maj. Anthony Jocius received during his recent stint in Iraq, the one he talked about the most contained something few would suspect a soldier to crave: powdered drink mix. The water in Baqubah, where Jocius is stationed, is drawn from a river that might make some creeks look clean. The water is cleaned through a reverse-osmosis process that leaves the water with a chlorinated taste.

Winning words

By Dan Patrick · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:10 a.m.

Former IU Distinguished Professor Willis Barnstone has published 46 books, taught during two wars and one cultural revolution and translated texts from Chinese, Spanish, French, Latin, ancient and modern Greek and Biblical Hebrew. And Barnstone was just the beginning of his family's poetic legacy.

Lady initiates don new Greek letters

By Mike McElroy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:09 a.m.

Exhausted but satisfied, IU's Greek women faced their next big challenge Monday: classes. The women's recruitment process culminated Sunday night with the Panhellenic Bid Ceremony, where participating women learned which chapter they would call home for the remainder of their IU career. And behind the scenes, months of careful planning and organization came to fruition.

Kruzan plans to integrate his goals

By Sarah Schwimmer · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:05 a.m.

Though Mark Kruzan only officially became the Bloomington mayor a week ago, he has been hard at work since his Nov. 4 election when he defeated Republican candidate Fred Prall. During his campaign, Kruzan based his platform on three aspects of concern to him in Bloomington: economic growth, physical growth and the widening income gap. Kruzan said the transition has been an easy one thanks to the support of two important people.

Turning pro early

By Dan Cohen and Daniel Cohen · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:05 a.m.

Junior forward Ned Grabavoy will forgo his senior season of eligibility at IU and enter the 2004 MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 16 in Charlotte, N.C. The All-American has signed a contract with the MLS and is one of eight players signed as part of Major League Soccer's Nike Project-40 class that was recently unveiled by the league. In 2003, Grabavoy carried the Hoosiers to their sixth national championship, leading the team with 33 points on 11 goals and 11 assists in 21 games. As co-captain, Grabavoy was one of 15 finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club Herman Trophy handed out to the nation's top player.

Student brings Chess Consortium back to life

By Kourtney Schepman · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 12:59 a.m.

Since last spring, IU has been without a chess organization. The lack of faculty support, sufficient finances and student involvement all contributed to the group's fallout. But with a graduate student's efforts, the organization has taken form again. Graduate student Ryan Lauer, an accomplished chess player, initiated a petition to the IU Club Sports Federation. Lauer was backed by support from a handful of interested students, and the Chess Consortium was reinstated. "I felt there was a need to bring chess back into the University under a formal banner and hopefully entice the myriad informal groups currently found around campus to get involved as well," Lauer said.