Longform

Sodrel denounces negative political advertisements

By Chris Freiberg and Warren Christopher Freiberg · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 11:29 p.m.

Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-9th, expressed displeasure Tuesday with the influence outside groups are exerting on his closely contested race. Speaking to the Bloomington Rotary Club, Sodrel slammed so-called 527 groups, tax-exempt organizations not affiliated with specific candidates that try to sway voters with their own ads.

IU Art Museum director collects drawings for book

By Nicholas Mills · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 11:27 p.m.

Ten years of research have paid off for IU Art Museum Director Adelheid Gealt, whose reconstruction of 18th-century artist Domenico Tiepolo's New Testament drawings coincides with her latest book, "Domenico Tiepolo: A New Testament." The book features full-color photos of all 313 drawings, which were made with pen, along with titles and descriptions.

U.N sanctions North Korea after nuclear test

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 11:12 p.m.

[The Facts] The Washington Post reported that the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to enact a U.S.-drafted sanction on North Korean finances and weapons activity. North Korean U.N. Ambassador Pak Gil Yon has said the U.S. sanctions constitute a "declaration of war." Are the U.N. sanctions a proper deterrence for North Korea's nuclear program?

Brains and brawn

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 11:08 p.m.

Graduate students' lives are far from easy. Between research, coursework and grading papers, many are too busy to eat or sleep, let alone exercise or take time for themselves. This is why the Graduate and Professional Student Organization introduced a new program to bribe busy grad students to relax, recoup and get fit. Those who devote 10 hours in a month will receive a free bagel and be entered in a raffle to win basketball tickets, personal training sessions at the Student Recreational Sports Center, opera tickets and more.

Should the 'Crossroads of America' be closed to illegal immigrants?

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 11:07 p.m.

On Oct. 10, the Indiana GOP proposed stiffer enforcement of illegal immigration laws by denying public social services and broadening police authority to investigate and detain offenders. While Democrats in the state legislature also oppose illegal immigration, they propose penalizing employers who hire illegal immigrants as opposed to the immigrants themselves. Republican state Rep. John E. Smith says illegal immigration harms Indiana taxpayers in the entire state. Our columnists debate the GOP proposal.

Abortion apathy

By Alyson Brodsy and Abram Hess · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 11:03 p.m.

"Why on earth would you spend your lunch break standing on a corner, holding a poster of an aborted baby?" This unspoken question was visible on the faces of many passers-by Friday afternoon as a dozen IU students and alumni held an anti-abortion protest in front of IU's Sample Gates.

Socket to me

By Abby Schwimmer and Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 10:52 p.m.

Ah, October. In most places, it heralds a gradual drop in temperatures. But Bloomington isn't most places. If last week's cold snap is any indication, we might soon be in over our heads here in southern Indiana's frozen hinterlands. As silly as it seems to break out your long underwear just after the official end of summer, we can't fight Mother Nature. Trust me, I've tried.

It's raining men

By Alyson Brodsy and Joanna Borns · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 10:47 p.m.

It rained Monday. The raindrops themselves were quite ordinary. They were wet and falling from the sky. There was nothing particularly masculine about them. In fact, the raindrops were incredibly asexual, more so than the most asexual things -- even peanut butter, TV stands and Nebraska.

CBGB's legacy

By Alyson Brodsy and Brian J. McFillen · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 10:46 p.m.

This past Sunday, legendary New York rock club CBGB hosted its last live show, a three-and-a-half-hour farewell by punk-pioneer Patti Smith. Founded in 1973, CBGB was the unlikely launching pad for a revolution in popular music. By being a dive in a bad neighborhood, desperate for acts, it became a place where anyone could play and be heard -- and "anyone" turned out to be The Ramones, Television, Blondie, the Talking Heads and many, many more. Although justly celebrated as the birthplace of punk rock, CBGB was, more importantly, the place where the DIY ("do it yourself") aesthetic crystallized -- the idea that anyone, regardless of technical skill or financial resources, could make great music. And for the last 30-plus years, the DIY aesthetic has powered much of music's innovation, whether as punk, college rock, alternative, indie or, most dramatically, hip-hop. Yet at the end of this month, CBGB will be gone (although there are alleged plans to resurrect it in Vegas).

Around the World

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 10:37 p.m.

See what's gonig on around the world.

U.S. population hits 300 million milestone

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 10:33 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- The nation's population officially hit 300 million at 7:46 a.m. EDT Tuesday, when the Census Bureau's population clock rolled over to the big number.

Bush signs new interrogation bill

By Alyson Brodsy and Nedra Pickler · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 10:25 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush signed legislation Tuesday authorizing tough interrogation of terror suspects and smoothing the way for trials before military commissions, calling it a "vital tool" in the war against terrorism.

Online Only: The dichotomy of group work

By Alyson Brodsy and Tyler James Perry · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 2:20 p.m.

In our school careers, all of us have had the experience of doing group work. It can take the form of a collaborative paper or a presentation, and the work burden is split between two or more people each doing an equal amount of work (at least, that's how it's supposed to go). Whether you're the slacker of the group or the one who has to carry all the weight on your shoulders, you have undoubtedly been involved with group work at one time or another.

Call of Duty

By Elisha Sauers · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 11 a.m.

Students by trade. Soldiers at heart.

Prosecutor: Shotgun blast killed Behrman

By Chris Freiberg and Warren Christopher Freiberg · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 7:33 a.m.

MARTINSVILLE -- IU student Jill Behrman was killed by a 12-gauge shotgun blast to the back of the head, Morgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega told a jury on the first day of the high-profile murder trial Monday.Several media outlets, including Fox News, had reported that as the cause of death since Behrman's remains were recovered in March 2003, but this was the first time an official close to the case revealed the information publicly. Behrman, who was a 19-year-old IU sophomore at the time of her disappearance, went missing May 31, 2000, during a morning bike ride.

A can-do can drive

By Whitney Mitchell · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 7:32 a.m.

IU students can help break a Guinness World Record by simply cleaning out their cupboards.

Flying in zero gravity becoming more commonplace

By Seth Borenstein · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 12:37 a.m.

Science teacher Mike Hickey has long understood the difference between mass and weight. Now, floating in zero gravity, he doesn't just understand it; he feels it. The 54-year-old Cleveland high school teacher is giggling like a middle-schooler with a crush: "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I still have mass. No weight."

New York City civil rights lawyer sentenced to 28 months

By Larry Neumeister · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 12:28 a.m.

A firebrand civil rights lawyer who has defended Black Panthers and anti-war radicals was sentenced Monday to nearly 2 1/2 years in prison -- far less than the 30 years prosecutors wanted -- for helping an imprisoned terrorist sheik communicate with his followers on the outside.

Foster to get new late-night hangout this spring

By Zack Teibloom · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 12:28 a.m.

Dorm residents will have a new late-night hangout as early as next semester. The venue is an empty wing of Gresham Food Court, and Residential Programs and Services Executive Director Pat Connor said RPS hopes to place pool tables, arcade games, flat screen TVs and more in the area.

Good business from the cradle to the grave

By Michael Skaggs · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 12:12 a.m.

A crucial social problem sprung up for our generation years ago. I think it's safe to say that most, if not all, of us experienced it in our earlier years.