IUSA

Not even for romantic comedy fans

By Alyson Brodsy and Ash Cartwright · Thursday, March 22,2007 12 a.m.

There are a lot of things about "The Holiday" that ought to make it a great romantic comedy. It is an escape fantasy about an L.A. woman (Cameron Diaz) and a British woman (Kate Winslet) who take a break from their troubles with men by switching homes for the holiday season. Of course, they each quickly meet some interesting men in their new locations (Jack Black, Jude Law). The dialogue is at times wonderfully crafted evidence of director/screenwriter Nancy Meyers' skill as a filmmaker and awareness of the tradition of classic Hollywood romance, which the film often not only draws from but also openly admires.

Lawmakers discuss road proposals

By Alexandra R. Moses and Deanna Martin · Thursday, March 22,2007 12 a.m.

Public transportation systems need to be explored further as Indiana deals with traffic, pollution and energy challenges in the near future, lawmakers said during a hearing on the subject Wednesday.

UPDATE 6:15 p.m.: Police say graduate student stole IU computers to fund crack habit

By Paige Ingram · Thursday, March 22,2007 12 a.m.

A graduate student allegedly stole computers from University Information Technology Systems to pay off his crack cocaine debt, leading to multiple arrests, the IU Police Department reports.

Shelbyville woman, oldest in America, pushing onward

By Shannon McEnerney · Thursday, March 22,2007 12 a.m.

Wearing a pink jogging suit, Edna Parker sits quietly in her wheelchair. Her bony hands lay in her lap clasped together.

H.R. 720 poor use of government, puts burden on wrong people

By Abra Oliver and D. Eric Schansberg · Thursday, March 22,2007 12 a.m.

I appreciate Rep. Hill’s efforts to keep his constituents informed about his activity. In a recent letter to the editor, he praised a $14 billion federal program that would result in $351 million in benefits for Indiana. H.R. 720 would fund the Water Quality Financing Act, providing taxpayer-subsidized loans to local communities – to construct wastewater treatment plants and water-pollution abatement projects. Let’s do the numbers on this. A $14 billion program costs $190 in taxes from the average family of four. Payouts of $351 million to Indiana would benefit the average family of four in Indiana by $220. The good news is that we’ll be receiving more than is being taken from us. The bad news is that this extra money is coming from taxpayers elsewhere in the country. For example, I don’t think people in Colorado will be happy to have money taken from them to pay for a wastewater treatment plant in Indiana. Is this an ethical use of government force? Another question is why the federal government is involved in funding local projects. Practically, when we have a local problem, one solution is to send a bunch of money to Washington, they take a cut of it to pay for their bureaucracy, send some of it back to us with strings attached, and we address the local problem. Another solution would be to send the money to Indianapolis and maybe reduce the bureaucratic costs and strings. Perhaps the best solution would be to keep the money and the solutions at the local level. D. Eric Schansberg Professor of economics IU-Southeast

Dow reveals poor ethical practices in refusal to clean up Bhopal

By Abra Oliver and Harini Gopalakrishnan · Thursday, March 22,2007 12 a.m.

It is disconcerting to see the column by Edward Delp titled “Defending Dow” (March 1) in the Indiana Daily Student. In his concern for vindicating Dow, he has failed to assess the complete nature of the situation as is today. Amnesty, in its recent assessment of the situation in Bhopal, has made a detailed claim asking Dow to clean the mess they have directly or indirectly helped create. True, Dow and Union Carbide had nothing to do with each other the day the event happened, but the reality of the fact is that, to date, the site, the very plant where the tragic event happened, has not been cleaned. The drinking water, a basic necessity for any human, is completely polluted due to the seeping of the waste into the ground, and there has been nothing done about it. Dow can and definitely is in a position to do something. They completely own UC, and even if they have no say on UC’s individual problems, they cannot refute the fact that their executives sit in the same boardroom as UC and they are in a position to ask them to clean up their mess. Dow by itself has no great environmental record and its poor history has been the debate of many protests in different places across America. Time magazine has run an article on it. The protest against the invitation of the CEO to the conference was to send a message. The aim was not to take on the CEO personally but the organization he represents. It was to make people aware, that beside the two “e’s” of “environment” and “energy” that there is something else that we need to take stock of – the third “e” of “ethics.” For it is these students who go on to become CEO’s and entrepreneurs of bigger corporations in the future and the future needs to be different from the past. It would not compromise IU but enhance its reputation for setting a stance on the kind of companies that it will associate with and pass the same on to the students who will carry the torch of such values and ethics on their climb in the corporate ladder. Harini Gopalakrishnan Graduate student

The Shoe Fits

By Eric Anderson · Thursday, March 22,2007 12 a.m.

Prokofiev’s magical ballet “Cinderella” returns to the Musical Arts Center stage this weekend. Making this production even more special is the return of Jacobs School of Music alumni Joseph Morrisey and Christopher Nachtrab, who originated the roles of the Prince and the Jester just two years ago. They are the first alumni to have the honor of being guest artists, so they sat down with the Indiana Daily Student to discuss their returns to Bloomington.

Stone cold stunner

By Alyson Brodsy and Andy Shore · Thursday, March 22,2007 12 a.m.

Welcome to the big kids table, Joss Stone. On her third album, Introducing Joss Stone, the 19-year-old with golden pipes takes the songwriting reins and creates an outstanding record. The album is filled with soul, R&B, hip-hop, rock and enough Motown overtones to make the listener wonder whether Berry Gordy woke up one day and decided to produce a new album.

Indy's own rock renaissance

By Brian J. McFillen and Grace Low and Brian Spegele · Thursday, March 22,2007 12 a.m.

Indie rock can come across sometimes as … well … kinda wimpy. And as much as we like sweet, heartfelt ballads or off-kilter pop experiments, sometimes you just want to ROCK. So, last weekend, while the indie world converged on the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, we headed north to Indianapolis to check out two of the genre's more ferocious specimens: Bush-blasting garage-punks The Thermals and America's greatest bar band, The Hold Steady. Appropriately enough, the evening began with an apocalypse. Upon taking to the stage, The Thermals unleashed "Here's Your Future," their portrait of a right-wing fundamentalist dystopia. Sounds like standard punk material, right? But here's the thing: It's also catchy as hell -- a fact evidenced by the hipster heads compulsively bobbing around us. Now, with their third and most acclaimed album, The Body, The Blood, The Machine, The Thermals are gaining attention as much for writing deadly sharp hooks as for their message. And talking to front man Hutch Harris, it sounds like the former is going to take priority. Hutch said that he's considering moving away from the political focus of Body, Blood and its predecessor, 2004's Fuckin A. "I kind of want to make a record that specifically doesn't have something like that, something that's more about the songs …" unlike Body, Blood, Hutch said, "where it's just kind of too heavy for such simple songs."

Back to reality

By Mike Abrams · Thursday, March 22,2007 12 a.m.

Spring break is that time of year where when college students stop focusing on academics and start dabbling in debauchery. It’s that week of the year when students party for an entire week like they usually do on the regular weekends. It’s all fun in the sun, but most students forget one major thing: the rest of the world keeps churning while we have fun.

Psychic baristas

By Joanna Borns · Wednesday, March 21,2007 12 a.m.

It’s miraculous how ordinary people find the will to leave their snuggly wuggly beds in the morning and go somewhere. Civilization abandons both the snuggly and the wuggly, driven by basic survival instincts. We have no choice but to take on the ultimate challenge of waking up. And we have to do it without the aid of magic powers. Or do we?

White House aides under probe

By Abisalom Omolo and Pete Yost · Wednesday, March 21,2007 12 a.m.

WASHINGTON – The White House offered Tuesday to make political strategist Karl Rove and former counsel Harriet Miers available for congressional interviews – but not testimony under oath – in the investigation of the firing of eight federal prosecutors.

Team rebounding after slow start

By Linnea Coulter · Wednesday, March 21,2007 12 a.m.

With the weather finally warming up and the gates to Woodlawn Field unlocked, the men’s ultimate frisbee team, known as the HoosierMama?s, is hitting the turf in hopes of continuing their tradition as a powerful ultimate team while heading into the end of the season.

Bloomington friends react to news of Steffey's death

By Erin Riley · Wednesday, March 21,2007 12 a.m.

Local residents who knew him best were saddened to hear the news that Bloomington native Wade Steffey was found dead on the campus of Purdue University after being reported missing more than two months ago. Many were relieved that the Steffey family had finally found their son, though questions still surrounded his death.

Passing through

By Julia Boriss · Wednesday, March 21,2007 12 a.m.

Every time I pass the window in my living room back home, I peer out onto the playground of the elementary school across the street. I am reminded of the nights when my friends and I claimed that playground and made it our own.

Spring practice begins without Hoeppner

By John Wustrow · Wednesday, March 21,2007 12 a.m.

It may have been the last day of winter, but for the IU football team Tuesday marked the first day of spring practices. “It’s nice, it’s a beautiful day out here,” junior fullback Josiah Sears said. “It was really fun to play football again, since it’s been a while.” It had been exactly 122 days since the Hoosiers’ 2006 campaign ended with a 28-19 loss to Purdue on Nov. 18, 2006. That loss left IU one game short of its first bowl appearance since 1993 with a 5-7 record.

Author to speak on the history of racism in the U.S.

By IDS staff and Alexandra R. Moses · Wednesday, March 21,2007 12 a.m.

Author James W. Loewen will speak about racism at several Bloomington locations March 21-23 in the United States through the years.

Off-the-beat bands headed to Bloomington for Little 500 weekend concerts at Bear’s Place, Bluebird

By Chelsea Merta · Wednesday, March 21,2007 12 a.m.

Three 6 Mafia, Yellowcard and O.A.R. might be playing during Little 500 week, but they won’t be the only talent coming to Bloomington. David Bazan of Pedro the Lion, Lightning Bolt, Brother Ali and PSALM One will be performing in various venues in Bloomington during Little 500 weekend.

LSU’s ‘Big Baby’ to leave school, enter NBA draft

By Aaron Beard · Wednesday, March 21,2007 12 a.m.

BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana State University center Glen “Big Baby” Davis is moving on to the next stage of his basketball life. The 6-foot-9-inch, 290-pound junior said Tuesday he will skip his senior year to enter the NBA draft.

Trip to Florida for spring break leaves Hoosiers undefeated

By Kyle Wood · Wednesday, March 21,2007 12 a.m.

The IU club baseball team returned to Bloomington from its spring break trip in Plant City, Fla., with its perfect record still intact, winning all seven of its contests and improving to 9-0 on the season.