IUSA

TACKLING TECHNOLOGY

At a University that Newsweek magazine called the "Hottest Big State School" for its leadership in technology, tech issues are at the top of the IU Student Association candidates' platforms. The Hoosier ticket is touting Ruckus -- a media downloading program and making teacher evaluations available online. Red Hot's focus: improved wireless connectivity throughout campus.

'Kingdom of Heaven' doesn't disappoint

Epic filmmaking has been in a rut ever since the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy ended in 2003.

IU looks to donors to eliminate athletic debt

The IU Athletics Department hopes to rely on donors to pick up the tab for the replacement of men's basketball coach Mike Davis. The $800,000 resignation package due to Davis has left the already cash-strapped Athletics Department with the added expense of paying a new basketball coach over the next two years. The budget proposal Athletics Director Rick Greenspan submitted to trustees in September included Davis' salary for the remaining two years of his contract but did not allocate funds for a new coaching hire.

IUSA party calls police over mix-up

A member of the Red Hot IU Student Association ticket called the IU Police Department after a verbal altercation between Red Hot and its 2006 IUSA election opponent Hoosier erupted Wednesday outside Ballantine Hall, said Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from a police report. When Sgt. Shannon Ramey and Sgt. Craig Munroe responded, they found no problem and people were leaving. "One (ticket) was given permission to be around a clock, the other was given permission to be around a kiosk," Minger said. "I think there was a mix-up in where they were supposed to be. "We had to send an officer over to negotiate and act as mediator."

Off-duty officers face danger escorting funerals

While escorting a routine funeral procession, off-duty IUPD Lt. Tom Lee suffered what he and his employers believe to be some not-so-routine injuries. "I've had two surgeries already," he said. "Chances are, in the best-case scenario, I'll have two additional surgeries. Worst-case: I'll need four." Lee escorts funeral processions on a motorcycle for Regal Funeral Escort, Inc., a Bloomington-based business that hires full-time or retired police officers to stop traffic so that a funeral procession can pass through. But because of an accident during a procession on the morning of Feb. 7, Lee said he is now "pretty much immobile" for six weeks.

Ceremony to rename music school Friday

The Jacobs School of Music, renamed in November after receiving the largest single gift from an individual donor of $40.6 million, will celebrate its new identity with a naming ceremony and concert at 4 p.m. Friday in Auer Hall. IU President Adam W. Herbert will provide opening remarks for the event, and son of donors Barbara B. and David H. Jacobs, David H. Jacobs Jr., will attend as well as Jacobs School of Music Dean, Gwyn Richards, according to a press release.

'Housewives of Mannheim' are in every American home

Often times, human role reinventions involve pulling other people close during times of vulnerability, only to push them away as the transformation toward self-efficacy is fulfilled. In that sense, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Alan Brody's kitchen environment of 1944 working-class Brooklyn, as portrayed in his play "The Housewives of Mannheim," is similar to many American home scenes reflected throughout popular culture during the last 50 years.

COOKING DEMONSTRATION

Two naked actresses plus one clothed man: Anything wrong with this picture?

NEW YORK - Pick up this month's Hollywood issue of Vanity Fair and you'll see two lovely young stars-of-the-moment, Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson, posing alluringly in the altogether. Open the foldout, and you'll even see Johansson's bare buttocks. What you won't see is a third, equally lovely young actress, Rachel McAdams of "Wedding Crashers" fame. It seems McAdams arrived at the photo shoot and decided she didn't want to take her clothes off.

New tap dance club seeks members

Students with "any inkling to tap dance" are encouraged to join a tap dance club being developed by senior Kyle Daley and IU tap dance instructor Allana Radecki. Daley said she has created flyers to post and promote the club, which she hopes will begin meeting in the next couple of weeks. She said "all different types of people with all different levels of tap dance skill" are invited to attend club meetings, where students have an opportunity to practice tap dance.

SIDEWALK RUNWAY

Historic deal signed to return looted treasures to the Met

ROME -- New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art will return 21 looted artifacts to Italy in exchange for loans of other treasures in a deal signed Tuesday that the Italians called a model for other museums with stolen goods in their collections. Met chief Philippe de Montebello said the agreement with officials from the Italian Culture Ministry "corrects a number of improprieties and errors committed in the past" and would encourage museums to put in place new legal and ethical measures.

Talent in our town

The Bloomington community and IU are proud to collaborate once again on ArtsWeek, an annual two-week arts festival. After 22 years, the festival has continually expanded to include dance, exhibit, film, music, talk and theater events. Mike Wilkerson, ArtsWeek coordinator and director, explained that the festival was originally ArtsWeekend and was mainly a venue for art programs on campus to showcase their talents. "However, as the festival evolved, we started getting more involvement from community organizations," Wilkerson said. "The biggest change that has occurred for this festival is that the community has now come to feel that they are full partners in this and really want to contribute significantly."

IU to host Big Ten Championships

The No. 11 IU men's swimming and diving team welcomes some top-ranked teams to the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center today as they play host to the 2006 Big Ten Championships. The Big Ten currently boasts seven teams in the top 25. "This is a very emotional atmosphere," IU coach Ray Looze said. "I expect it to be charged and electric." Senior Kevin Swander said "electric" would be an understatement when describing the mood inside IU's home facility.

IU seeks top-5 conference finish

Coming off an overtime thriller against nationally ranked Purdue last weekend, the IU women's basketball team will take the court tonight versus No. 22 Minnesota with hopes of claiming a top-five spot in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers (15-10 overall, 9-5 in conference) traveled to West Lafayette for Sunday's conference matchup with their in-state rivals. A deep Cyndi Valentin 3-pointer sent the game into overtime, where the senior guard hit two free throws with seconds remaining to ice the victory for IU.

Strick-ly speaking

Take a deep breath Hoosier fans, the bleeding has finally stopped. After losing five straight games and falling out of contention in the Big Ten race, the Hoosiers earned a home victory against Penn State last night, 69-65. IU was able to secure the win because they had a huge rebounding margin (plus 12), played hard throughout and senior guard Marshall Strickland was simply on fire.

Win raises tourney hopes

Senior guard Marshall Strickland cemented his place in IU lore Wednesday -- in more ways than one. On the night, Strickland became IU's 40th 1,000-point scorer, led the Hoosiers to a 69-65 win over Penn State and kept the team's NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The senior wingman scored nothing but 3-pointers, shooting 7-for-11 from deep, including an NBA-range three that put IU ahead for good. "We can exhale now," Strickland said. "It feels like we got a little monkey off our back and we can gear up for Sunday."

So cold it's hot

Ah, the magic of a fresh winter's snow. Upon viewing the world, all quiet and soft, blanketed in white, there's nothing I'd rather do than pick up a .22-caliber rifle. I have a theory that winter makes people go mad. Why should anyone act rationally when it's 27 degrees? Cold weather seems to bring out the wacky side in everyone, be they students or Olympic athletes. I saw a student the other day -- she looked cold, so cold. The temperature was below freezing and she was crossing the street wearing a denim mini skirt. Sure, there were furry boots involved, but the most striking feature of this fashion statement was the eerily pallid tone of the exposed skin. I pray, for the sake of your skin tissue and mine, that frostbite-chic is not the next big thing.

White Faces

When I was younger, I had a mental issue that is commonly referred to as "the awkward years," only mine were, well, weird. I didn't like the way I looked, but not because of acne or the 10 strands of hair growing in on my upper lip. I actually wanted a bigger nose, more defined cheekbones and dark brown skin. Basically I wanted to look like this statuette of an Aztec Indian that sat on my dresser. Lame, I know, but it's true. I just wanted to look more Mexican. My dad looked really Mexican, there is no mistaking him, but me, not so much.

Winning the race

Talk about "race relations" in America at the moment, and the images that spring to mind are rank populists preaching cheap separatism at the expense of national unity. As a rule, I don't abide demagogues. And so, as "Black History Month" finally draws to a close, I'd like to suggest a return to an older, higher vision of race in America. Long gone are the days when Americans aimed to eradicate the sin of racism by arguing against inequitable group entitlement. This healthy response to a grave injustice has given way to an overt defense of entitlement.