Longform

Mellencamp to perform

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 11:27 p.m.

In front of a homecoming crowd that IU coach Terry Hoeppner hopes will top 50,000, singer and Bloomington native John Mellencamp will perform his new hit song, "Our Country," before the start of IU's football game Saturday against Michigan State. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Memorial Stadium.

Pac-10 beats Hoosiers, Big Ten

By Kevin Kane · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 11:26 p.m.

Entering the third Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge in Brandon, Ore., the Hoosiers were looking to beat some of the nation's top-ranked golf teams. After Tuesday's 18th hole, IU finished in 10th, and the Pac-10 claimed its first-ever victory at the event. In the short history of the Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge, IU has yet to finish higher than 10th. Despite having sophomores Seth Brandon and Drew Allenspach finish in the top 25 and sophomore Jorge Campillo tying for fifth, IU was unable to overcome the Pac-10's dominant play.

Swimming with momentum

By Alyson Brodsy and Jonathan Hines · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 11:25 p.m.

When Kevin Swander joined the IU men's swimming and diving team as a freshman, promises were made. "I came here as a freshman under a rookie coach, and he promised the freshman class a Big Ten title," said Swander, now an IU student coach. At the time, IU had not won a Big Ten title in 17 years. The program, which had once produced Olympic champions like Mark Spitz and legends like James "Doc" Counsilman, had hit a rough patch, a title drought with seemingly no end.

Campus ghost walks reveal secrets of local haunts

By Rebecca Glasgow · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 11:19 p.m.

Ghosts and goblins everywhere: Beware. Your stories are about to be told once more. For two nights, stories of ghosts and IU legends will come alive as professors, staff and students from the IU Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology host the fifth annual ghost walk around the IU campus. The guided walks will be at 7 p.m. today and Friday for $7. The Thursday walk will encompass the north campus, including fraternities, sororities, dorms and other places of interest. The Friday walk will include sites on the south side of campus, such as the Union, cemetery and Wells statue. Last year, the walks attracted more than 200 people.

The Secret Is Out

By Paige Ingram · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 11:18 p.m.

What started as a whim for Frank Warren has turned into an international phenomenon, resulting in millions of strangers sharing secrets daily on postsecret.com. In November 2004, Warren, the owner of a document delivery company in Germantown, Md., passed out 3,000 postcards. On them, he asked complete strangers to write down their secrets. The 100 that came back became part of an art exhibition Warren entered.

Jordan River Forum

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 11:13 p.m.

Students at IU should be very concerned about the position that IUSA has taken with regard to the Rape Crisis Fund. Rather than examining why the fund has lost so much money, instead it is questioning the involvement and funding for the Middle Way House Rape Crisis Service. Although on campus there is the Sexual Assault Crisis Service (at the IU Health Center) and various programs run by the Office for Women's Affairs, there is no emergency service other than that provided by Middle Way. When women are assaulted or raped, it is Middle Way staff or volunteers, trained by professional staff, who support women at the hospital and provide immediate support and assistance.

Speak out, get active!

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 10:44 p.m.

Who among the student body has never complained about University policies? Who has gotten an outrageous bursar bill without reflexively cursing the University's management of funds? Who in the sciences has not lamented the inadequate funding of research? Who in the dorms has not whined about living on a "dry campus?" Who hasn't kvetched about the lack of diversity or unyielding attendance policies? Everywhere you turn you can hear about how dumb of an idea Ruckus is, the inefficiency of OneStart, the dearth of inaccessible parking and so on without end. With any problem a student might encounter on the campus, the nebulous entity that is "the University" is a frequent target for blame. If one were to judge from the amount of complaints heard around campus, it might be reasonably surmised that a large community of students must be actively protesting University policies. Oh, wait. That would assume the University wasn't brimming with fractious, apathetic egoists.

Federal judge: Indiana can block automated political calls

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 10:37 p.m.

A federal judge has ruled Indiana can block a California-based group from making automated calls that attacked Democratic congressional candidate Baron Hill, who is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Sodrel in the 9th District.

Man with handgun robs Super 8 Motel

By Audrie Garrison · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 10:36 p.m.

Police say an armed man robbed a Bloomington motel early Wednesday morning. The clerk at Super 8 Motel, 1000 W. Rappel Ave., told police that a man walked into the building and displayed a semi-automatic handgun, said Bloomington Police Department Detective Sgt. David Drake, reading from a police report. He pointed it at the clerk and demanded money.

Poll: State heading in right direction

By Alyson Brodsy and Associated Press · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 10:34 p.m.

A new statewide poll has found greater support for Democrats regaining control of the closely divided Indiana House, while also finding more people saying the state is heading in the right direction than in the wrong direction. Republicans now hold a 52-48 majority in the House, but 45 percent of those surveyed said they wanted to see the Democrats win control, with the GOP picked by 39 percent in the WISH-TV Indiana Poll released Tuesday night. Sixteen percent were not sure.

Ukranian judges visit city to see example of U.S. justice system

By Jessica Wolfe · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 10:33 p.m.

Some IU students will spend their whole college careers trying to understand the U.S. court system. A group of Ukrainian judicial officials will try to do it in one week, with one of those days spent observing court procedures in Bloomington and Nashville, Ind. The group arrived in Washington, D.C., last week as part of a program sponsored by the Open World Leadership Center, created and funded by Congress. The program has brought more than 11,000 emerging leaders from post-Soviet countries, including Russia and Ukraine, since it started in 1999.

New movie features first black Jesus

By Alyson Brodsy and Sandy Cohen · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 10:27 p.m.

It's a familiar image for millions of Christians: Jesus, with a crown of thorns, hanging from the cross. What color is he? In a controversial new film opening Friday, he is black. "Color of the Cross" tells a traditional story, focusing on the last 48 hours of Christ's life, as told in the Gospels. In this version, though, race contributes to his persecution. It is the first representation in the history of American cinema of Jesus as a black man.

Cigarette butts, Band-Aids, ketchup: treasure for a New York artist

By Alyson Brodsy and Colleen Long · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 10:25 p.m.

Rotting garbage piled along the curb, decades-old furniture decaying in the rain, discarded cigarette butts everywhere you look -- New York City can be a filthy place. To many, it's a disgusting downside of living here. To Justin Gignac, it's treasure.

TV themes losing place in prime time

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 10:24 p.m.

I don't remember much about high school biology or physics, and I couldn't tell you how to compute a calculus problem, but, for the love of Will Smith, the theme song to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" remains fresh in my mind. Smith's catchy rap opened each episode of his hit '90s sitcom, in which he starred as a street-smart teen from Philly who moves in with wealthy relatives. A whole generation knows the rap by heart, as well as the "Saved by the Bell" song.

Artist demonstrates calligraphy as part of ongoing exhibit

By Shannon McEnerney · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 10:21 p.m.

Zhiyuan Cong stands with his eyebrows arched and his hand raised with a brush angled, ready to dive into the paper. After a slight hesitation, he sweeps his brush across the page, forming black lines that look like a waterfall. After adding a mixture of blues, greens and grays, the picture is complete. Cong, an art professor at William Paterson University, holds up his finished Chinese ink painting with calligraphy. The painting depicts a red flower emerging from a dark background. Jaws drop as members of the audience marvel at the creation.

Putin says he won't run for 3rd term, promises justice for slain journalist

By Alyson Brodsy and Henry Meyer · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 10:12 p.m.

MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed Wednesday that he would not try to run for another term but said he would retain influence over Russia even after leaving office in 2008. The immensely popular Putin is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term, but supporters have called for a referendum on amending the country's laws to allow him to stay in power.

Man alleges sexual abuse by same priest who fondled Foley as a boy

By Alyson Brodsy and Jennifer Kay · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 9:20 p.m.

Another former altar boy says he was sexually abused in the 1970s by the same retired Catholic priest who acknowledged fondling former Rep. Mark Foley when Foley was a teenager, the man's attorney said Wednesday. The new allegations against the Rev. Anthony Mercieca were made by a man who lived in North Miami and was an altar boy at St. James Catholic Church, where Mercieca worked, attorney Jeffrey Herman said.

Online Only: The One-Issue Voter

By Alyson Brodsy and Abram Hess · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 2:44 p.m.

In two weeks, patriotic Americans will go to the polls to perform their civic duty, and I will, reluctantly, be among them.

Faith vs. prejudice

By Alyson Brodsy and Waddell Hamer · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 2:40 p.m.

This weekend, I attended an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship conference in Washington, Ind. I would call myself a Christian with many struggles; some are with myself, but some are with trends in the Christian community that I find troubling. One of these trends presented itself through a chance encounter I had during the conference.

Blood and guts

By Alyson Brodsy and Brian J. McFillen · Wednesday, Oct. 25,2006 2:40 p.m.

It may still be a week before Halloween proper, but one of the best things about the holiday has already arrived: the proliferation of horror movies on your TV.