IUPD

George H.W. Bush: Race a non-issue post-Katrina

INDIANAPOLIS -- Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush told a crowd of 11,000 at Butler University that bringing race into the discussion of the government's response to Hurricane Katrina was disheartening. "In fact, I think race has nothing to do with what happened there, and I am saddened that this has come into the national dialogue," he said. Bush said charges of racism like those levied on the government after Hurricane Katrina are counterproductive to a discussion of race relations and amount to a "race bating."

Former IU women's basketball coach found dead

The winningest coach in IU women's basketball history was found dead Tuesday morning from what authorities called an "apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound."

Katrina briefing tape leads to Bush criticisms

WASHINGTON -- Democratic lawmakers accused the Bush administration on Thursday of withholding information and misleading the American people about the response to Hurricane Katrina, following disclosure of a videotape of a pre-Katrina briefing for Bush and other top officials. The House and Senate have conducted separate investigations of the federal response, and the White House did its own investigation. House Democrats for the most part refused to participate in the probe, insisting since last fall that an independent commission should be created to handle the probe.

U.S., India sign landmark nuclear deal

NEW DELHI -- Reversing decades of U.S. policy, President Bush ushered India into the world's exclusive nuclear club Thursday with a landmark agreement to share nuclear reactors, fuel and expertise with the energy-starved nation in return for its acceptance of international safeguards. Eight months in the making, the accord would end India's long isolation as a nuclear maverick that defied world appeals and developed nuclear weapons. India agreed to separate its tightly entwined nuclear industry -- declaring 14 reactors as commercial facilities and eight as military -- and to open the civilian side to international inspections for the first time.

IU community takes on Bush's oil reduction plan

According to the most recent State of the Union Address, one of President Bush's main goals for his second term is to break the dependency on foreign -- especially Middle Eastern -- oil. While Bush re-emphasized this week that the nation's security, environment and economy would benefit from accomplishing that goal, IU professors stressed that reducing the flow of oil from the Middle East would be just one of many steps necessary to solve the nation's energy crisis.

Fraternity president: Author 'has no class'

Author Tucker Max's book signing was moved to Kilroy's Sports bar from Sigma Chi Wednesday night, but confusion persists over who initiated the change of venue. "This relocation was requested by the associates of Tucker Max who wanted to get things set up early at Kilroy's Sports and begin their night at Indiana earlier than we had planned," said Ty Ferraro, social chair for Sigma Chi, in an e-mail. Ferraro also said before the event that Sigma Chi would be providing rides to the bar from their fraternity house.

Students to attend Latino Leadership Conference

Savino Rivera hopes he can teach Indiana's Latinos that the future is "in the palm of their hand." As vice president of the Latino Enhancement Cooperative, Rivera has helped plan the Latino Leadership Conference, which runs Saturday at the Kelley School of Business. "Visions to Reality: In the Palm of Your Hand" is the theme of this year's conference, and Rivera said he hopes students can take the message to heart. "It's very inspiring in that there's a large Latino community aspiring to come to Indiana University," he said.

Disability access to be on display at fair

Students will have the chance to walk in disabled students' shoes at the third annual Disability Awareness Fair on Monday. Disability Services for Students is holding the all-day event in the Frangipani Room in the Indiana Memorial Union on Monday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This year's fair will include tables featuring technology demonstrations provided by the Adaptive Technology Center. These displays will allow students an opportunity to experience life with a disability.

FSA to hold fundraiser lunch for mudslide victims

The Filipino Student Association, with help from the Asian Culture Center and Filipinos of the Bloomington community, is sponsoring a luncheon from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Siam House restaurant to benefit victims of the recent mudslide in the Philippines. The luncheon will raise money for the nonprofit organization Gawad Kalinga, which means, "to give care," and strives to find "alternative solution to the blatant problem of poverty," according to its Web site, www.gawadkalinga.org.

Dancesport attracts all types of dance enthusiasts

The doors open, the lights turn on and the glare on the floor resembles gold. One young man walks in wearing designer jeans and his hat tilts to the right. Another young man walks in wearing old track pants and a high school T-shirt. A young woman walks in wearing baby pink velour pants and her hair is in a tight bun below her ears. IU Dancesport brings this diverse group together with a little tango music.

Athletic training students prepare boxes to be sent to Bloomington troops in Iraq

The sound of crinkling paper filled the room as students decorated boxes with pictures and flags. Members of the Student Athletic Training Council decorated collection boxes at the University Gym on Thursday as part of their effort to send care packages to troops in Iraq. The group plans on placing the boxes at strategic locations around Bloomington and the IU campus.

ONE OF A KIND

Student and opera star plans to perform in New York City

A spotlight shot down from the ceiling to the back of the IU Musical Arts Center and the entire audience turned. Figaro, the self-confident and self-loving Barber of Seville, strutted down the aisle distributing fliers and proclaiming his fortune in a booming baritone voice. He literally sang his own praises as he told of his wealth and assured the crowd that he was the most loved citizen of the town.

(Don't) show us your udders, ladies!

"Girls Gone Wild" has been taken over by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Actually, no, it hasn't. But PETA's new anti-dairy campaign, "Milk Gone Wild," is comparable to the videos of young women flashing their breasts on spring break. The ad features a bar, where women lift up their shirts to reveal udders, rather than human breasts, and spray milk out of them to the delight of the male patrons.

Alumna explores eating disorders, body image

March is not just the month of basketball madness, it's also National Women's History Month, a proposed time to appreciate the dedication and perseverance of strong women. In honor of the month, IU alumna Amy Fortoul will perform a one-woman show at 8 p.m. tonight at Rose Firebay in the John Waldron Arts Center. Her performance will expose the harsh realities that many woman face everyday. The piece, "This Is My Body," is a spoken-word performance, which she wrote, directs and performs in.

Football player arrested on suspicion of trespassing, intimidation

IU Police Department officers arrested IU freshman football wide receiver James Bailey early Monday morning under suspicion of trespassing, intimidation and conversion -- a lesser theft charge -- said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from the police report.

And the Oscar Goes To...

Another year at the cineplex has passed. Box office figures might be down, but the quality of cinema we've seen this past year is anything but mediocre. While all the critic circles have handed out their awards and the Golden Globes did the same a month ago, now it all boils down to the 78th Academy Awards. Will "Brokeback Mountain" continue to steamroll over the competition? What if "Crash" overcomes all contenders -- especially after receiving top honors from Screen Actor's Guild? Or maybe "Munich," the latest from Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg, will capture the gold.

Meet the METZ

When Indiana Memorial Union Associate Director Thom Simmons brings guests through the Metz Suite, he likes to tell them it's nothing out of the ordinary. "I do tours of the Union," Simmons said, "and I'll say 'This is just a typical suite on a college campus.'" But the suite, which has eight rooms, takes up the entire top floor of the Union hotel, houses an extravagant collection of expensive artifacts and is open to VIPs only, is anything but typical.

IU awaits election results

During the IU Student Association election debate, Hoosier Vice President of Congress candidate and junior Clark Kaericher said if there's low voter turnout, the fault lies on both tickets for not impassioning the student body to vote. To prevent low turnout, representatives from both tickets, Red Hot and Hoosier, spent Tuesday and Wednesday campaigning across campus. Elections Coordinator Keith Johnson said results from the election will be announced this afternoon.

Anxiety, stress tests offered today

As mid-term exams, spring break and graduation fast approach, the stress and anxiety college students battle every day begins to build. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, the IU Counseling and Psychological Services will offer stress and anxiety screenings in the main lobby of the Herman B Wells Library, the lobby of the education building and in Gresham Food Court. People who attend the screenings can take a pencil and paper test concerning stress. A counselor will then score the test and give feedback on its results. The screenings will be free for anyone on campus and will offer information on how a person can cope with stress and anxiety. "Students should come (to these screenings) because it's important to learn more about the cause of stress, how they can prevent it from becoming a problem and how to cope with it," Chris Meno, a psychologist at CAPS, said. "This screening is really beneficial now because this is the time of year when students really begin to feel overwhelmed."