Longform

Offense goes missing in men's soccer team's loss to Penn State

Five times this season, the IU men’s soccer team has been held scoreless in the first half of play and come back to win.

Women's basketball rolls over Southern Indiana

Shooting less than 48 percent from the free-throw line usually doesn’t bode well for winning basketball games – unless a team converts nearly 55 percent of its field goals and 63 percent of its 3-point shots. The IU women’s basketball team followed this model in its 93-49 victory against Southern Indiana in its first exhibition game of the season Saturday.

Goodbye, 2008. See you next year

No crystal ball, no tarot card, not even Ms. Cleo could have correctly hypothesized IU’s season up to this point. 2008, as we all know, was supposed to encompass the resurgence of Hoosier football.

6th loss comes in close contest with Chippewas

Completely outmatched through the air, the IU football team could not stop Central Michigan’s backup quarterback Brian Brunner in a 37-34 loss to the visiting Chippewas. Brunner threw for 485 yards and four touchdowns in the non-conference victory on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The loss was IU’s sixth of the season, dropping its record to 3-6. “We don’t feel very good,” sophomore quarterback Ben Chappell said of his team’s emotion following the game. “They played good, but we just didn’t play well enough to win.” Brunner’s 485 yards are the third-most IU has let up all time. “He did a tremendous job,” IU coach Bill Lynch said in his post-game press conference. “He is a fifth-year senior and has been in a program that has won a lot of football games. They certainly play with a lot of confidence.” To counteract Brunner’s success, the Hoosiers amped up their pass rush at the beginning of the second half.And it worked. Brunner was sacked five of his seven total times in the final half. But Brunner and the Chippewas also adjusted and found receivers left one-on-one in man coverage as Hoosier linebackers blitzed.

A new campaign calls for new rules

Barack Obama’s fundraising prowess has been well documented this election season, as has been the large extent to which his funding has come from small donors. The average campaign contribution for Obama is $86, according to the campaign. Of course, with such an influx of cash – and the obvious disadvantage at which it has put his opponent – there are bound to be accusations of impropriety. For example, John McCain’s campaign manager Rick Davis recently implied there could be either illegal donors, illegal types of donations, or people contributing more than the legal limit. There’s little proof to either support or deny these accusations, though, mostly because the Obama campaign hasn’t released information on donors who contributed less than $200. In fact, campaigns are not legally obligated to release the identity of these small donors. According to Slate magazine, it would be possible, and not too hard, to be able to compile a database of donors that could be released. They know this because they did it – not with Obama’s actual donors, obviously, but with an invented list. The laws that govern campaign finance, like much else in the bureaucracy of government, are outdated.

Congressional non-endorsement is a joke

First and foremost, let me compliment so many young liberals on campus who are representing “their” values like freedom of speech, equality and tolerance with so much class. It strikes me as so funny that the people who preach about how these principles have been trampled under the current administration are the same people who curse at or spit on students such as myself who wear My Man Mitch and McCain/Palin apparel. Maybe practicing what you preach would be a better way to convert some of us.

Who me, vote?

Tuesday. What a boring, insignificant day of the week. It’s a necessary evil that inevitably stands between Monday and Wednesday. Beyond that, it has absolutely no relevance at all. This Tuesday in particular should be nothing short of blah. On its own, Nov. 4 signifies nothing other than Halloween being over and Thanksgiving still a couple of weeks away. How appropriate, then, that Nov. 4 happens to be Election Day. Nope, nothing exciting here. The guy with the big ears is getting kicked out of office, one way or another. So why vote?

Realistic expectations

Tuesday, it’s over. The votes will be counted. A new president will be elected. And while half the country rejoices, the other will pout. But have faith. Regardless of who wins, everything will be all right. There’s so much that’s put into a presidential race. Donors give their money. Volunteers give their time. And the candidates give all of themselves – their ideas, their personalities, their families, their pasts –  to be praised by their parties, mocked by their opponents and scrutinized by the media.

The cure for nyctophobia

Nyctophobia is fear of the dark. It’s a rational fear. Darkness is frightening. It’s akin to blindness. There is no telling what lies ahead without light to illuminate the way.    In our technologically savvy society, however, we have the luxury of flipping a simple switch on a wall to replace the darkness with light. Car headlights were invented to assist drivers’ night vision and prevent accidents. Some might even find themselves resorting to dependence on the blue glow from their cell phones to light their way in the dark.

Joe is everybody

Republican presidential nominee John McCain says each of us is Joe the Plumber. Apparently every citizen of the United States of America is a white, middle class male with a small business that earns more than $250,000 a year. Well that is news to me. Last I checked I was a female college student making no money. It makes me wonder: Who is this man everyone has found a common thread with?

Brunner's 485 yards takes Chippewas past Hoosiers 37-34

Completely outmatched through the air, the IU football team’s defense couldn’t stop Central Michigan’s backup quarterback Brian Brunner as he threw for 485 yards and four touchdowns. Brunner led his Chippewas to a 37-34 non-conference victory against the Hoosiers on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

McCain to be in Indianapolis on Monday

Republican presidential candidate John McCain will be making his first Indiana stop since July 1 on Monday, just a day before the election.McCain will make the stop at the International Arrivals Ramp at the Indianapolis Airport. The stop comes as part of the Road to Victory Rally.

Decision Day

Night of the living undead

Kirkwood Avenue and Walnut Street are hubs of nightlife entertainment for college students, but this Thursday the streets entertained a different crowd: the undead.

Celebrity status of candidates might affect votes

Rock star. War hero. Small town beauty queen. Through YouTube, Facebook and “Saturday Night Live,” pop culture stereotypes of Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin are permeating this year’s election.

McRobbie travels to Asia to work with Korean Universities

IU President Michael McRobbie leaves today for a trip to South Korea and China. McRobbie, along with several IU faculty and staff members, will spend six days in Korea and two days in China, where they will attend a conference on the globalization of education, according to a press release.

Myers’ appeal for trial denied

The Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday denied an appeal of John Myers II, the man convicted of murdering IU student Jill Behrman.

On the outside looking in

As senior Andrew Sharp drags his brown sneakers back and forth to clear leaves and seeds off the sidewalk, the cynicism in his voice is matched only by his frustration. “We used to do it every week last year,” he says, dropping to his knees and drawing a “D” with orange jumbo chalk.

IU organizations meet Sunday for Campus Cleanup

The Civic Leadership Development organization of the Kelley School of Business is holding its annual Campus Cleanup from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday. This is the first year the event is being held in the fall the week before Parents Weekend in an effort to beautify the IU campus.

Student democrats battle Election Day blues

The entertainment for Friday's early voting march will be a political satire about Barack Obama by freshman Ben Bizuneh, a stand-up comedian who recently won open-mic night at Funny Bone for his “Obamedy” act.