IUSA

Hoosiers tie for top spot in weekend tournament

By Mandy Eid · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

The men’s golf team started its spring season off with a win this weekend in Guadalajara, Mexico at the Club de Golf Santa Anita Classic two-day tournament. The men tied Houston after three rounds, shooting a combined total of 896 (305-287-304). “It was a little disappointing,” coach Mike Mayer said of the tie. “I thought we could’ve played a little better.”

The show must go on

By Amanda Dorman · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

Junior Andrew Landau’s goals for the future might seem unrealistic at first. “I hope to be able to have John Mayer sing at my son’s bar mitzvah,” Landau said. Since starting his own concert promoting business called Innovative Entertainment Concepts, Landau might be one step closer to his dream.

Talk focuses on raising transgender children

By Alisha Chaudhary · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

At first, they expected her to get over it. Then they told her to act like a boy. At an age when she was expected to play with cars, guns and G.I. Joes, Ashley liked to play with Barbie dolls and wear skirts and high heels. Today she is a happy, little 7-year-old girl, though she was born a boy. “Ashley” is a pseudonym. Because of the nature of the topic, Ashley’s mother, Shannon, wished her daughter’s real name not be used.

United Way $105,000 short of annual goal

By Elizabeth Dilts · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

Community Kitchen of Monroe County served nearly 131,000 meals last year to hungry citizens in the local area thanks to funding from United Way of Monroe County.

Study: U.S. second in science literacy to Sweden

By Maria Karapetyan · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

Though many nonscience majors in the United States specialize in different fields to stay away from science altogether, they leave college among the most scientifically literate adults in the world, ranking second only to Swedes, scientists found in a recent study.

Michaelangelo’s private room discovered in Vatican

By Daniela Petroff · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

VATICAN CITY – A 450-year-old receipt has provided proof that Michelangelo kept a private room in St. Peter’s Basilica while working as the pope’s chief architect, Vatican experts said. While going through the basilica archives for an exhibit on the 500th anniversary of the church last year, researchers came across an entry for a key to a chest “in the room in St. Peter’s where Master Michelangelo retires.”

Around the World

Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio have agreed to merge. The deal, announced Monday, would consolidate the only two companies in the emerging business of subscription-only satellite radio, but it is sure to face tough scrutiny from federal regulators. The two companies said in a statement that Mel Karmazin, the CEO of Sirius, would become chief executive of the new company. Gary Parsons, the chairman of XM, would remain in that role.

Colombia replaces foreign minister

Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

BOGOTA, Colombia – Colombia’s president quickly named a new foreign minister Monday, hours after Maria Consuelo Araujo resigned amid a growing scandal linking the political establishment and far-right paramilitaries.

Ed Berstein’s work, like the chandelier piece shown here, is on display at the IU Art Museum.

Professor discusses printmaking, digital art work at IUAM

By Kyle Meehan · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

Art professor Edward Bernstein will discuss his work with digital art and printmaking Wednesday at the IU Art Museum. Bernstein, of the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts, has worked with etchings and engravings for more than 30 years.

One beauty pageant after another

By Ryan Brown · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

We’re in the last stretch of Oscar season, and in the spirit of the Academy, I have a request from you. I ask you to, in the back of your mind, root for “Little Miss Sunshine” as the recipient of this year’s best picture award. Oddly enough, however, I hope it doesn’t win.

Green and Gore-y

By Abby Schwimmer and Ab Schwimmer · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

It all stared with the beard. I never used to be a fan of Al Gore. To tell the truth, during the fiasco of the 2000 presidential election – that unfortunate bit of American history that introduced us to the “hanging chad” and the proverbial “lockbox” – Gore completely rubbed me the wrong way. The man whom I now idolize as an ecological savior then seemed to me a pompous, arrogant crybaby with the personality of a hermit crab.

Bush’s proposed 2008 budget could affect financial aid

By Jessica Anderson · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

In the proposed $2.9 trillion budget for the 2008 fiscal year, President Bush’s spending plans could affect financial aid and research funding for many IU students and faculty. Perhaps the biggest change in spending for higher education will affect those students who depend on financial aid. The proposal calls for a 1.4 percent increase for Pell Grants but a decrease in spending for Perkins Loans, compared with the 2006 fiscal year budget.

Online Only: The ‘Garden State’ Effect

By Stefania Marghitu · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

I will always remember the first time I saw “Garden State.” I was visiting my family in Romania, and it just came out in the theaters there. This means it was recently released on DVD in the U.S. I was greatly impacted by this film, the music and overall story line. It’s the kind of movie that has an even blend of comedy, drama and romance that appealed to both male and female audiences of all kind.

66 killed in a bombing in India

By Abdullah AlShihri and Muneeza Naqvi · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

DEWANA, India – Two bombs exploded on a train headed from India to Pakistan, sparking a fire that swept through two coaches and killed 66 people in an attack that officials said Monday was aimed at undermining the peace process between the rivals. Witnesses described a scene of horror as panic-stricken passengers were trapped in one of the burning cars even after the train stopped, just before midnight Sunday in a rural area in northern India. The screams of the victims filled the night, then were drowned out by the roar of the flames. Most of the dead were Pakistani, said Railway Minister Laloo Prasad. Dozens were injured.

Under the influence

By Alisha Chaudhary · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

If you have ever thought about skipping class or a huge assignment for a game of beer pong, you’re not alone. The IU Facebook network has more than 130 groups dedicated to the game. The largest, Beer Pong Indiana Chapter, has more than 1,100 members. A recent study led by researchers at Loyola Marymount University indicates that both male and female college students participate in drinking games regularly, and that participation in drinking games leads to increased consumption of alcohol.

Slam poets to battle Wednesday for $100 prize

By Brian Hettmansperger · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

As part of the seventh annual Hip Hop Awareness Festival, the IU Hip Hop Congress is putting on a “Poetry Slam” at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Indiana Memorial Union Gallery.

Adoption campaign kicks off with a bark

By Shannon McEnerney · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

With a smile on her face, Journey rolled over and enjoyed the belly rub given by Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan Monday evening at Tutto Bene Cafe and Wine Bar.

Physicists will soon shed light on dark matter

By Ken Kingery · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

The largest particle accelerator in history is scheduled for completion in August at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland. The accelerator caused a lot of buzz last weekend at this year’s annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and it should answer many questions scientists have about dark matter. Scientists recently discovered that the matter we can see , which makes up physical objects such as people, accounts for only 4 percent of the universe. The rest is made of mysterious substances known as dark matter and dark energy.

Brazilian capoeira goes international

By Michael Astor · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

SALVADOR, Brazil – The master, wearing dreadlocks, dings out a twangy rhythm on his bow-shaped “berimbau” and lets loose with a plaintive melody recalling slavery days. Two men, glistening with sweat, squat before him, reaching up to touch the African instrument’s resonating gourd. They cross themselves and shake hands before cart-wheeling into the circle formed by the other players, singing and clapping hands.

$41M life sciences plan approved

By Brian Spegele · Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007 12 a.m.

Demonstrating what some state and University leaders called a “commitment” to the life sciences, IU moved a step closer Monday to securing a significant funding hike. The Indiana House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee approved a $41 million plan to bring increased life sciences funding to IU as a part of proposed the state’s two-year, $26 billion spending plan outlined by Democratic leaders.