Longform

At stake: pride

This year’s 84th annual battle for the Old Oaken Bucket won’t feature any bowl-bound teams. Instead, pride will be the only thing at stake for IU (3-8, 1-6), something that is just fine with IU coach Bill Lynch. “Any time you have a rivalry game like this the last week of the season, no matter what has gone on before it, it’s a big football game,” the second-year coach said during his weekly press conference.

Around the Arts

Warm up with wool, cashmere sweaters

In case you haven’t noticed, winter is upon us. Sure, officially it’s still fall, but with the temperature routinely dipping into the 30s, it’s safe to say a warmer form of clothing is greatly needed.

IU Soul Revue brings mix of soul, funk, Motown to Bear’s Place

Wednesday night at Bear’s Place, the IU Soul Revue took the stage in front of a standing-room-only crowd, belting out the classics of soul, Motown and funk. The singers performed in groups of four or more, changing with every song.

‘Juno’ musician to perform with local sibling pair

These days, it’s nearly impossible to talk about Kimya Dawson without mentioning “Juno.”

No longer winless: Club hockey looks for more conference ‘Ws’

Former Senate leader Tom Daschle chosen as Obama’s new health secretary

President-elect Barack Obama promised the voters change but has started his Cabinet selection process by naming several Washington insiders to top posts.

Scientists say famous 16th-century astronomer’s remains, grave found

Researchers said Thursday they have identified the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus by comparing DNA from a skeleton and hair retrieved from one of the 16th-century astronomer’s books.

1st heart transplant surgeon dies

Dr. Adrian Kantrowitz, who performed the nation’s first human heart transplant and developed lifesaving medical implants, has died. He was 90.

Men's swimming hosts Hoosierland Invite

Multibillion-dollar Detroit automaker rescue plan stuck in neutral in Senate

A plan to give troubled U.S. automakers billions of dollars in government-backed loans is on life support, leaving the fate of hundreds of thousands of workers and Detroit’s once-venerable car companies hanging in the balance.

U.N. agrees to send 3,100 more peacekeepers to Congo

The U.N. Security Council unanimously agreed Thursday to send 3,100 more peacekeeping troops to Congo, while rebels said they remained committed to a pullback from the front lines despite an army attack.

‘Heavy load’ awaits home squad in multi-team meet

Women's basketball looks to rebound from loss

Volleyball preps for big matches

IU-Purdue rivalry more than just a game

Coming to the end

One year ago, senior Austin Starr was Bloomington’s hero. Back then, Hoosiers everywhere rejoiced when the then-junior sent a 49-yard field goal through the uprights in the season’s penultimate moment. His celebrated kick sent the Hoosiers to their first bowl berth since 1993 and seemingly revitalized the program. But now, in a downtrodden year marked by disappointment, Starr and his team have sunk back to the bottom of the Big Ten. But they’ll get one last shot at redemption Saturday. “It is kind of surreal, but it hasn’t gone too fast,” Starr said, reflecting on his upcoming final game. “I’ve been taking it in.” Injuries and inconsistencies have plagued the 2008 Hoosiers, and Starr is no exception. A nagging hip injury prohibited him from putting up the same performance throughout his senior campaign that he displayed as a junior. A year ago, Starr kicked 21-of-23 field goals, hit all 48 extra points and, at one point, nailed 15 field goals in a row.

Closing up the cracks

Getting into college certainly involves putting yourself out there.As most of us neared our final year of high school we sent out massive amounts of personal information in search of a college acceptance letter, as well as some student aid. Now, to track down potential fraud or misuse, the Department of Education’s inspector general’s office plans to create a new central database of computer records that it hopes will help the office do a better job of detecting waste and abuse in government programs, according to an article published Wednesday in the Chronicle of Higher Education.Given the large amounts of personal information we have sent out searching for that one extra scholarship, grant or student loan, this might seem a little disturbing. In fact, several higher-education lobbying groups are objecting to this new initiative on privacy grounds.

Thinking big

When Sen. John Edwards came to IU last Tuesday, he shared what he felt should be a top priority for the president-elect: presenting a clear vision for America. It made perfect sense to me – just as a leader has to present a vision for his team, an individual also must have a strong vision of his goals to attain them. You are only as successful as what you envision yourself to be. The problem, then, is how to cultivate that vision. The answer, I learned, is not that simple. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Alan Greenspan demonstrated how he had an innate inquisitiveness to understand how the world works. For Greenspan, he had a never-ending quest to acquire a broad view of life in general.

Skip your blessings

This Thanksgiving, let us all bow our heads before digging into our turkey and fixings and think about what we are most thankful for. Chances are, for a lot of us, being with our families ranks up there around the top of the list. For some, of course, low introductory APRs, Thirsty Thursdays and the “Twilight” movie might be competitive this year, but the majority of us go for the family. There is certainly good reason for this choice. For most of us, our families represent home, shelter and a helping hand. But this year, I think it might do us all a little good to be just as thankful for what we don’t have. Many students here at IU are too far from home to travel back for Thanksgiving. I’ve never been in that predicament, but I witnessed a similar experience in high school. My family hosted a foreign exchange student who couldn’t see her family for any major holidays for a year. She was disappointed, of course, but I couldn’t help thinking how rewarding the next holiday spent with her family would be.