IUSA

Smoke and mirrors

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 11:06 p.m.

If Facebook is any indication of the general sentiments of students at IU, it seems that a sizable minority of us think Ugg boots are annoying, if not outright offensive. Logically, the next step is to form a group against Uggs on IU's campus, followed by submitting a proposal to President Adam Herbert outlining how to effect a ban of such hideous footwear.

Iraqi leaders try to halt sectarian violence, slide into civil war

By Alyson Brodsy and Thomas Wagner · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 11:04 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish leaders called for an end to Iraq's sectarian conflict Sunday and vowed to track down those responsible for the war's deadliest attack.

Lights

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 11:04 p.m.

Lights -- Fireworks light up in the sky Friday during the 44th annual Circle of Lights at Monument Circle in Indianapolis.

Palestinian attacks ignore truce agreement

By Alyson Brodsy and Amy Teibel · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 11:03 p.m.

JERUSALEM -- Israeli troops withdrew from the Gaza Strip as an unexpected truce took hold Sunday, but two major Palestinian militant groups, saying they had no intention of stopping their attacks, fired volleys of homemade rockets into Israel.

More than 40 firefighters needed for northwestern Indiana blaze

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 11:02 p.m.

HAMMOND, Ind. -- Firefighters contained an aluminum plant blaze that had produced dense black clouds of smoke but were still struggling Friday to douse lingering flames being fed by an unknown fuel source, a fire official said.

State buys land with timber sales money for first time

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 11:02 p.m.

NEW AMSTERDAM, Ind. -- The newest addition to the forest land the state owns includes dozens of acres where a decade ago the owner planted some 30,000 trees.

Women alerted to possible identity theft

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 11:01 p.m.

EVANSVILLE -- Two computers containing health records on people in the state's Breast and Cervical Cancer Program were stolen, leaving more than 7,500 Indiana women at risk of identity theft, officials said.

Daniels' new tollway proposal leaves community leaders with questions

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 11 p.m.

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. -- Some local officials have plenty of questions about Gov. Mitch Daniels' proposal for a 75-mile tollway bypass of Indianapolis.

House Democrats say sales tax on gasoline should be removed

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 11 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Democrats who control the Indiana House want to eliminate the state's sales tax on gasoline, but Republicans who control the Indiana Senate are skeptical.

Elkhart woman charged with killing her 4 children

By Alyson Brodsy and Tom Coyne · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 10:59 p.m.

ELKHART, Ind. -- A prosecutor is considering seeking the death penalty against a mother charged with strangling her four young children. Angelica Alvarez, 27, of Elkhart, was ordered to be jailed without bond on four counts of murder during a court hearing held Wednesday just hours after she was released from Elkhart General Hospital. She had been in the hospital since being found unconscious with a faint pulse Nov. 14 next to the bodies of her children, ages 2 to 8.

Around the Campus

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 10:58 p.m.

See what's going on around campus!

Lilly gives philanthropy center $40M

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 10:56 p.m.

A $40 million endowment grant to the Center on Philanthropy at IU will help certify the center as one of the nation's top institutions of its kind for years to come.

Film series combines classic Hollywood, avant-garde cinema

By Ben Greenberg · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 10:55 p.m.

It's not often there's a chance to see a 1920s German adaptation of "Dracula." But thanks to the City Lights and Underground film series, it's possible to see this and other unconventional films every weekend for free.

IU Cancer Center receives record $50 million gift

By Brian Spegele · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 10:53 p.m.

Along with a record-breaking $50 million donation announced Nov. 20 to fund new facilities to attract elite researchers, the IU Cancer Center will also receive a new name.

Alternative spring break offers Jamaican trip, opportunity to learn foreign culture

By Andrea Knapp · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 10:51 p.m.

For the third year in a row, students will be jetting off to Jamaica for spring break to earn IU credit. Roots, Fruits and Jamaican Ecologies: Cultural, Agricultural and Environmental Initiatives in the Blue and John Crow Mountains is a three-credit, service-learning course being offered again this year as an "alternative spring break."

IU grad named director of Indiana Arts Commission

By Jessica Hullinger · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 10:49 p.m.

One of IU's own graduates has been appointed executive director of the Indiana Arts Commission, and he has big plans for making the commission more accessible.

I fought Black Friday, and I won

By Alyson Brodsy and Teri Rosenbaum · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 10:48 p.m.

Everyone has a time of year that's special to them. For some, it's Restless Leg Syndrome Education & Awareness Week; for others, it's Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month. Well, this weekend was my special time.

Center may expand senior art options

By Lindsey Landis · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 10:46 p.m.

Plans are in the works for a Bloomington center where senior citizens can stay active in the arts. On Nov. 19, the director for the National Center for Creative Aging, a New York-based initiative to create arts programming for older adults nationwide, Susan Perlstein, held a workshop at the John Waldron Arts Center to launch a local chapter of the Center for Creative Aging. She presented examples of work that senior citizens have done in creative aging centers around the country.

Jacobs School of Music makes 10 sound investments

By Kevin Caldwell · Sunday, Nov. 26,2006 10:44 p.m.

The fingers of some of the finest piano students have new reason to tickle the ivories: The Jacobs School of Music has added 10 new Steinway & Sons pianos to its collection. Unlike years past, these pianos are not on loan but were purchased after the school's loan plan with Meridian Music fell through in July.

UPDATE: Commission recommends increase of funding for IU

By Brian Spegele · Wednesday, Nov. 22,2006 5:50 p.m.

IU saw a promising first step in attaining a greater portion of state funds Monday when the Indiana Commission for Higher Education made their state budget recommendation. The executive-appointed committee called for a 2.5 percent increase in state operating appropriations in 2007-08 for the University, said J.T. Forbes, IU director of state relations.