Longform

Israelis split on Gaza Strip withdrawal plan

By Benjames Derrick and Benjamin Derrick · Sunday, July 25,2004 10:10 p.m.

An estimated 130,000 Israelis joined hands Sunday to form a human chain stretching from the edges of the Gaza Strip to Jerusalem to protest the Israeli government's plan to withdraw from the area. The Israeli government's unilateral withdrawal plan comes after years of fruitless negotiations between Israel and their Palestinian counterparts, years which have been frequently punctuated with violence and much blaming.

Around The Campus

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, July 25,2004 10:06 p.m.

IU Alumni Club to meet at Yogi's The IU Alumni Club will meet for Hoosier Happy Hour at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Yogi's City Grille, 216 S. College Ave. The meeting will be an opportunity for alumni to network and reunite with former classmates. For more information, contact Rachael Crouch at 855-3575 or visit the IU Alumni Club Web site at http://alumni.indiana.edu/clubs/monroe .

Summer orientation ends Tuesday

By Karen Yancey · Sunday, July 25,2004 9:59 p.m.

Summer orientation wrapped up last week with an estimated 6,500 participants coming from all around the country, Associate Director of Orientation Melanie Payne said. "Students did everything from take assessment tests to register for classes to attend sessions on student life," Payne said.

Around The World

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, July 25,2004 9:53 p.m.

Court rules sperm donor must pay child support HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A state appeals court ruled that a verbal agreement between a woman and her sperm donor was invalid, and ordered the man to pay child support for the woman's twins. The three-judge panel ruled Thursday that the deal between Joel McKiernan and Ivonne Ferguson -- in which McKiernan donated his sperm and would not be obligated to pay any support -- was unenforceable because of "legal, equitable and moral principles."

Armstrong wins 6th straight tour

By Alyson Brodsy and Mort Rosenblum · Sunday, July 25,2004 9:51 p.m.

PARIS -- All people saw, on first pass, was a yellow flash tucked within the blur of blue that led the pack down the Champs-Elysees. But that was all it took. Paris yelled its heart out. Lance Armstrong, the 32-year-old Texan who fought past cancer to get back on his bike, was the first six-time victor in the 101-year history of Tour de France, surely the world's most grueling athletic event.

Sudan rejects U.S. claims of genocide

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, July 25,2004 9:47 p.m.

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Sudan's foreign minister, insisting his government is doing all it can to end the conflict in the country's western Darfur region, rejected a U.S. Congressional declaration that the bloodletting amounts to genocide. Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said Sudan agrees with the African Union, which has refrained from calling the atrocities genocide, a crime punishable under a 1948 U.N. convention.

Economy top priority among Democratic delegates

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, July 25,2004 9:45 p.m.

BOSTON -- It's the economy, John Kerry. That's what delegates to the Democratic National Convention say their presumed presidential nominee or -- they shudder to think -- President Bush should concentrate on first in 2005, an Associated Press survey of Democratic delegates found. Health care was the No. 2 issue, followed by the war in Iraq, according to the survey of some three-quarters of the 4,300-plus delegates.

'Curious Incident' is a curiously good read

By Brittany Ausmus · Sunday, July 25,2004 9:32 p.m.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is the stellar first novel from Mark Haddon. A murder mystery unlike any other, it focuses on the would-be Sherlock Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old Briton who has a form of autism called Asperger's Syndrome and the personality quirks that accompany the disorder. Haddon, who worked with children who are afflicted with the different types of autism before turning into a novelist, crafts with care an independent character with goals and drive, just no concept of emotion.

Silk Road Bayrem explores cultures of Central Asia

By Benjames Derrick and Benjamin Derrick · Sunday, July 25,2004 9:28 p.m.

People from all over the country traveled to experience the Silk Road Bayram festival Saturday held by the Azerbaijani American Cultural Education Foundation and other international campus organizations. The festival explored cultures from the countries along the route to the East made famous by Marco Polo. The festival featured film, music, artifacts, food and dance from Silk Road nations.

Indiana plant responsible for acid mist

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, July 25,2004 9:20 p.m.

MOUNT CARMEL, Ill. -- Officials at an Indiana power plant that has spewed acid mist into this southern Illinois town for more than a month agreed Friday to shut down the device causing the problem. State and federal regulatory officials on Thursday threatened legal action against Cinergy Corp. if its Gibson Station power plant near Princeton, Ind., didn't stop sending acid mist into Mount Carmel, as it has been doing since a selective catalytic reduction device started malfunctioning in early June.

Indiana counties included among top 100 fastest growing in nation

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, July 25,2004 9:18 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Three Indiana counties are among the 100 fastest growing counties in the United States in terms of housing units, according to new statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Hamilton County is the 20th-fastest-growing county with a 19 percent increase in housing units from 2000 to 2003. Hendricks County ranked 21st and also has a 19 percent increase in housing.

Bloomington residents react to possible legislation

By Nick Pittman · Sunday, July 25,2004 9:16 p.m.

In the eight weeks since the death of Matt Jennings, a middle-school student who died from head injuries sustained in a skateboarding accident, locals have debated whether legislation should be passed requiring skateboarders to wear helmets. The head injury was caused when Jennings was riding a skateboard while being pulled by a scooter. Jennings was not wearing a helmet. Since his death, children and adults have worked together to create a law that requires head protection when riding a skateboard.

Famed pianist visits IU to conduct masterclasses

By Eric Anderson · Sunday, July 25,2004 9:11 p.m.

Since her emergence onto the American classical music scene half a century ago, Madame Alicia de Larrocha has become a giant in the world of piano performance. The artist will hold a series of masterclasses in Auer Hall this week. Hailed by New York critic Jay Nordlinger as "one of the most persistent, indefatigable, and, indeed, peripatetic of performers" of recent times, de Larrocha is making her appearance at the Summer Music Festival at the invitation of IU piano faculty member Edmund Battersby.

Swim team's legacy continues

By Bill Meehan · Sunday, July 25,2004 9:04 p.m.

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. was an IU swimmer in the 1960s and received his bachelor's and master's degrees in history from IU. He is now editor in chief of The American Spectator, which he founded in a Bloomington farmhouse during his school days in 1967, originally called The Alternative. Named one of Time Magazine's 50 future leaders of America in 1979, Tyrrell also writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column and has authored seven books.

New coach reloads team with several top recruits

By Dan Cohen and Daniel Cohen · Sunday, July 25,2004 8:59 p.m.

For the first time in school history, IU soccer's recruiting class was headed by someone other than Jerry Yeagley. In his first year taking over for former coach Yeagley, Mike Freitag inherited the reigning national champions and completed his first ever recruiting class, which garnered the No. 14 ranking in the nation, according to College Soccer News.

Deeper in 'Thought' with the Roots

By -Brandon Tucker · Thursday, July 22,2004 10:30 p.m.

The Roots have a virtual monopoly on hip-hop's instrumental sound versus the endless amounts of DJs and producers. Basically anyone can make beats these days out of their bedroom, and producing continues the search for new sounds via sampling and technology.

Hoosiers go slumpbusting

By Alex Hickey · Thursday, July 22,2004 9:33 p.m.

So, maybe it's understandable that IU's 17-14 win over Illinois didn't cause the Memorial Stadium crowd of 24,102 to charge the field and rip out the goal posts. But for a team that had lost 11 straight in the Big Ten, it must have felt like the weight of the world was lifted from their shoulders.

Professor of the pigskin

By Alex Hickey · Thursday, July 22,2004 9:19 p.m.

Students and colleagues of African-American Studies professor John McCluskey might know of his Harvard education. But he's less likely to reveal to them a piece of information that might win a few bar bets and prove his role as a football pioneer. McCluskey, who played for Harvard from 1962-65, was the first black student to start at quarterback in the history of the Ivy League.

Not even close to famous

By Doug Evans · Thursday, July 22,2004 11:40 a.m.

A career as a rock star, now that would be the life. Who wouldn't want to dress up in Hammer pants, play a 27-minute extended Slash solo and sing about the difficulties of driving the speed limit on a majority of interstate highways?

Love 'em if you can't find 'em

By Ryan Whirty · Thursday, July 22,2004 11:38 a.m.

Obsessive music lovers have few goals in life: spending money they don't have on music, listening to said music while wondering how to pay the credit card bill and occasionally taking their minds off the credit card bill by unearthing an overlooked gem of an album.