IUPD

POLKA

Artifacts

Down with hate

Very shortly after the hiring of the new IU basketball coach, I came upon a Web site that was titled very clearly, "FIRE KELVIN SAMPSON." This might be the swiftest judgment of a new figure in IU's history. It might be because of certain minor recruiting infractions attached to the coach or the low graduation rate of his players. Maybe it's because no one will ever be Bobby Knight. Maybe a great many people just can't stand the man's name. Who names their kid Kelvin anyway?

Culture of cleanliness

After weeks at No. 1, "High School Musical" has finally relinquished its title as top-selling album in the nation. To which everyone older than age 12 asks, "What the hell is 'High School Musical?'" Well, "High School Musical" is the most popular Disney Channel original movie ever. It's the first full-length film ever to be sold on iTunes. Its soundtrack has unleashed six top 100 singles and a platinum album.

Living legally

For once, I'm agreeing with President Bush on something. Immigration has long been a hot-button issue, but it's on the front page now because of legislation currently being considered. In December, the House passed HR 4437, which proposes to build 700 miles of wall between the United States and Mexico and make assisting an illegal immigrant (even in a humanitarian way) a felony. It provides no provisions to create a guest-worker program or a path to legalization for illegal immigrants. Another bill, sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and pending in the Senate, would create a path to legal status for the estimated 10 million to 12 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States.

The importance of the 'checked box'

Tragedy strikes. An unidentified man comes out of the shadows of a campus building and sexually assaults a woman on her walk home from the library. Elsewhere, tragedy of a different kind strikes. Grief-stricken parents and siblings from Maine to Montana discover their children have fallen ill with leukemia and will need intensive treatments.

Online only: Thousands in Bloomington still without power after Sunday storm

About 3,600 Bloomington residents were still without power Monday afternoon from a storm that swept through Bloomington Sunday night, downing trees and closing roads.

The 300 CLUB

With a 5-2 win over Wisconsin on Sunday, the No. 26 IU women's tennis team propelled coach Lin Loring to his 300th Big Ten victory. The benchmark puts Loring in the company of legends. Former basketball coach Bob Knight and former baseball coach Bob Morgan are the only other coaches in IU history to have achieved 300 conference victories. Loring said the milestone was a reflection of the hard work of many people over the course of his 29 years at IU.

Pucker up for philanthropy

function openWin(URL){ var theNewWindow = window.open(URL,"thewindow", "toolbars=no, width=600, height=450" ); theNewWindow.focus(); } Junior Chris Medlyn comes from an Evansville family with five drivers and two cars. When he was offered a summer internship in Indianapolis, he knew he would be able to stay with his grandparents in Bloomington, but he didn't know how he would make the commute. When he heard about a contest taking place at Delta Upsilon this Saturday, Medlyn saw his opportunity. Medlyn outlasted 24 puckering people Saturday to win a 1998 Ford Mustang in an attempt to raise $5,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Alpha Omicron Pi sorority teamed up with Delta Upsilon for Kiss-Off, the fraternity's longtime philanthropy project. The groups purchased the Mustang and sold $5 raffle tickets for a chance to kiss the car, and the person who continuously kissed the car the longest became the owner.

Clocks wind forward for 1st time smoothly

With 47 members, the "Anti-Daylight Savings Timers" Facebook group proclaims, "This is for all the rebels who refuse to change their clocks since Indiana passed the Daylight Savings Time Bill." Despite this opposition, most students seemed to have weathered the Sunday morning switch to daylight-saving time by Sunday afternoon. Likewise, many Bloomington retailers reminded employees to "spring forward" and saw little tardiness Sunday.

Online only: Tornadoes and hail rake four states, injuring dozens

In Indianapolis, the storm hit with heavy wind and rain that shook downtown office towers as thousands of fans departed a free John Mellencamp concert.

SoFA Gallery features, celebrates student artwork

There are few places where student art can hang next to the work of famous artists. The School of Fine Arts Gallery is one of them. "SoFA has high standards," said Galo Moncayo, an IU professor of sculpture. "Every time students go, they get to see their peers' art alongside internationally known artists."

Slave era, struggle for freedom explored at dance performance this weekend

Academic-based dances sandwiched student collaborations at the African American Dance Company spring concert, "Moving the Movement: Dancing Liberation," Saturday evening at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Interim Director Deadra Nelson-Mason said she based the first and last pieces of the performance on research conducted for her thesis in African diaspora studies and dance at New York University.

'Code'-esque novel worth a read

What do you get when you mix the Knights Templar, buried treasure and a bunch of clues only a Sherlock Holmes with a religious studies degree would understand? A mediocre knock-off of "The Da Vinci Code." This one's called "The Templar Legacy," by Steve Berry. It came out in February and is part of a new genre of religious history/thriller novels filling up the spaces made for them on bestseller lists when Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" took off as a world-wide success.

Technical glitches fail to stop production's spring concert

Rows of black tights shook with laughter under the glare of lights, and the chorus of Paula Abdul's "Cold Hearted" played again and again, but Gary Wohlafka, listed in InMotion Dance Company's "Fusion" program as the lighting designer and audio technician, just couldn't seem to get it right. Several times, co-director and junior Justine Menter's blonde hair would flip up while she yelled, "Music? Music now, please," up to the sound booth.

Gators wary of UCLA's tough defense

INDIANAPOLIS -- After spending several hours breaking down UCLA's defense Sunday, Florida's assistant coaches stepped out of the cramped video room for a short break. They were admittedly tired and maybe a little overwhelmed. The Gators haven't faced anyone like the Bruins, whose smothering, hounding, tempo-controlling defense could pose problems in the NCAA championship game Monday night.

4 Hoosiers notch personal bests in weekend invite

Four members of the IU women's track and field distance team competed in the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., notching two personal bests -- a regional qualifying mark and the second fastest 5K time in school history. Junior Jessica Gall made some gaudy predictions before the meet began and took it upon herself to follow through. "We would like to qualify as many people as possible for the regional meet and then get a lot of people through to nationals," Gall said.

IU wins Big Ten opener for 1st time since '97 season

IU recorded victories over Ohio State and Penn State for the first time since 2004 and won its Big Ten opener for the first time since 1997 this weekend, a successful beginning to what the Hoosiers hope will be a successful conference run. The Hoosiers started out the weekend with two games against Ohio State on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, IU took the victory 4-1.

IU splits weekend home matches

The IU men's tennis team felt the effects of gusty winds swirling around the Varsity Tennis Courts during its first outdoor match of the season. After fighting off the wind and some pesky opponents, the Hoosiers defeated Wisconsin Friday, thanks in part to a come-from-behind effort by junior David Bubenicek in the No. 2 singles slot. After Bubenicek anchored the 4-3 win, the Hoosiers lost a tough 4-3 affair with No. 59 Northwestern Sunday, ending IU's eight-match winning streak.

Hoosiers bear down on Cincinnati in 1-0 home win

Not even Mother Nature could stop two siblings from battling each other in IU's 1-0 win against Cincinnati Friday evening in front of about 300 people. Originally scheduled for an evening contest in Bill Armstrong Stadium as part of the Midwest Soccer Coaches Symposium, IU moved the contest to Memorial Stadium because of Friday morning's rain, which made Jerry Yeagley Field unplayable. But at the last minute, the game moved indoors to the John Mellencamp Pavilion because of lightning leading up to the game.