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This Weekend's Calendar events

This cellar's GONE UNDER

Pool tables, dart boards, a pinball machine, a bar and a stage. All are lying empty and unused. The Christmas lights and neon signs have no one to illuminate with their glow. The posters on the wall remain overlooked.

Recker scores winning points

INDIANAPOLIS - For those IU fans who aren't fond of Luke Recker, this one wasn't easy to swallow. And it won't be for a long, long time.

Rule considers cash, not age

The mandatory retirement policy IU now has is not about age discrimination. It would be ridiculous to hire someone at age 63, have them work for two years, and then suddenly find them unfit to do their job simply because they turned 65. Of course, the ridiculous does sometimes happen, as in the case of former athletics director Clarence Doninger last year, who was forced to retire after holding the position for just over two years. Still, there is no magic line someone crosses on his 65th birthday that makes him suddenly incompetent; if Doninger was fit for the position at 63, being 65 couldn't have made much of a difference. But mandatory retirement isn't about age; it's about money. Yesterday, representatives from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission met at 9:30 a.m. in Bryan Hall to sign an agreement requiring the University to rewrite its stance on mandatory retirement. It's easy to support this as an ideal, but when the time comes to pay tuition, those in favor of rewriting the mandatory retirement policy might come to regret it.

Fore-SHOUTING vs. foreshadowing

Art students display work

A woman makes her way around a room, observing artwork that's mounted on walls, illuminated by little spotlights. She pauses at a large, framed black and white photograph and peers over her glasses to inspect it more closely. "That's a compelling little girl," she murmurs to herself. The child she's referring to has short brown hair that frames her face, a cowlick of baby hairs hanging down the middle of her forehead, a smudge of dirt on the right corner of her mouth and is thrusting out her lower lip in a slight pout.

Songs that will send me to hell

Get involved in IUSA to see its impact

I just wanted to address some things students might have overlooked regarding IUSA. Things might not have turned the way you expected ... but as for me, I am very happy.

Music for a non-sucky spring break

Report shows rightful landowners

For generations, black families passed down the tales in uneasy whispers: "They stole our land." These were family secrets shared after the children fell asleep, old stories locked in fear and shame. Some of those whispered bits of oral history, it turns out, are true. In an 18-month investigation, The Associated Press documented a pattern in which black Americans were cheated out of their land or driven from it through intimidation, violence and even murder.

United States offers troops to Afghan village

KAKARAK, Afghanistan -- The United States may station troops in the area where a recent American airstrike killed scores of civilians in a move to encourage local development and improve community relations, the commander of U.S. forces said Sunday. Lt. Gen. Dan K. McNeill flew to this village in Uruzgan province less than a week after an attack that Afghans say killed 48 people, including 25 members of an extended family attending a wedding. Another 117 people were reportedly wounded in the attack last Monday.

Recorders hurting TV

PASADENA, Calif. -- Television viewers could face paying for channels they now receive free if digital video recorders kill commercials, said Jamie Kellner, chairman of Turner Broadcasting System.

Pitching staff struggles during weekend as Hoosiers win 1, lose 2 against Nittany Lions

Penn State ripped apart the Hoosiers' fragile pitching staff in two days at Sembower Field. The final tally of the wreckage during the three-game Big Ten series included 24 allowed runs, eight pitchers and a starter lost to an elbow injury. Two losses sandwiched a 6-3 IU win with bright performances from pitchers senior Nick Otte and freshman Adam Pegg, but the overall weekend magnified the Hoosiers' continuing pitching woes. Starter Brad Edwards was tagged for six earned runs in Friday's 14-4 loss.

Friends mourn L.A. shooting victims

LOS ANGELES -- Friends and relatives gathered on Sunday to mourn the two people killed in the July 4 shooting at the El Al ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport, which was condemned by some as an act of terrorism.

Space tourist lands, urges others to make trip

ASTANA, Kazakstan -- The Russian capsule carrying the world's first paying space tourist landed successfully Sunday on the steppes of Kazakstan, ending American Dennis Tito's multimillion-dollar adventure in the cosmos.

A challenge to whiners

Many people have opinions about what is wrong with the United States and what our stance should be on terrorism. The United States is a great nation, and while we do get too full of ourselves from time to time (like the late '40s to the '80s), we do not take actions out of malice. We may be misguided and idealistic, but never have we warred out of hatred, despite what revisionist historians would have us think.

Arrests need explanation

As Americans, we generally feel safe that we won't be jailed without reason. We are confident we won't be hauled away from our families and imprisoned indefinitely. We know the police won't arrest us without anyone knowing. Our Constitution requires that arrest warrants only be issued when probable cause has been clearly demonstrated. Family members, concerned citizens and the media can obtain arrest records and court documents because our records are considered to be public property. With the people watching its actions, the government cannot easily hide its abuses. Because of this openness, Americans can barely fathom that secret arrests and imprisonments -- common in other countries -- could happen here.

Bush makes right decision

The Geneva Convention was signed in 1949 by 189 countries as a way to protect soldiers from abuse during captivity. It provides, among other things, that captives shall be given food and shelter, shall receive pay, need only give their name, rank and serial number to interrogators and shall not be tortured. President George W. Bush announced his decision Feb. 7 to apply the Convention to Taliban prisoners, although not to al Qaeda prisoners.

Album sure to 'Cheer Up' anxious fans

Cheer UpReel Big FishMojo/ Jive Records

Panel addresses alcohol issues

While the the race to get drunk during Little 500 week is sometimes as anticipated as the race itself, alcohol abuse on campus is a year-round issue. A panel of six students and campus officials discussed this problem with about 10 people at the Indiana Memorial Union Tuesday. During the conversation, panelists addressed a variety of questions and dealt with many aspects of alcohol on campus.