Longform

Crowd cheers IU in victory

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- IU's trip to the Elite Eight almost never got off the ground. Through the first 20 minutes against Duke in the South Regional semi-final Thursday, IU committed 16 turnovers -- more miscues than IU totaled in 24 different games this season.

Carter promotes Democracy in China

BEIJING -- He established diplomatic relations with China two decades ago, helping along a relationship that time has only made more important. Now Jimmy Carter, in his typically gentle way, is deploying his clout as an elder statesman to enter places and talk to people no one else could.

Steppin' Up

Brotherhood generates this homemade music. It would sound different if one member were missing. That's the point: It's all or nothing. Six Alpha Phi Alpha members meet on a dance court almost every night to fine tune stepping, a traditional African American dance staged within black fraternities and sororities.

Hoosier dreams

ATLANTA -- Steve Blake is about the only person outside the IU locker room that picked the Hoosiers to do some NCAA Tournament damage. Blake, Maryland's junior point guard, penciled in IU to knock off top-ranked Duke in the Sweet 16. His teammates thought he was crazy. Even Hoosiers Dane Fife and Kyle Hornsby and IU coach Mike Davis admitted they are still trying to get a grip on reality -- deep down, they didn't think they'd be playing in April for the national championship.

Fans are the difference

Why do we spend our hard-earned cash, neglect our classes and ignore our nightly responsibilities to become a secondhand participant of IU basketball and have our frame of mind determined by a shooter's touch? We believe our cheering, ref-bashing, clapping, singing and criticizing somehow does influence the game's outcome, and therefore we are in a small way part of the team. But do we really matter? Did you watch the game at Penn State Wednesday night?

U.S. forces to train Afghan army more

WASHINGTON -- U.S. troops will begin training Afghan army soldiers to bolster security and guard borders in that still-unstable nation, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Monday. The training will begin in four to six weeks and be led by 125 to 150 members of the U.S. Army's special forces teams. In a statement, the Pentagon said the training will start with 10-week courses emphasizing "basic soldier skills." More complex training involving a range of units -- from small groups to battalions comprising several hundred soldiers -- will follow.

Breeder's latest offspring solid

Reward offered in Pearl case

WASHINGTON -- The State Department said Wednesday it is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of those responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. "We were outraged by the senseless murder of Daniel Pearl," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. "We've condemned it in the strongest terms. And today we're announcing a $5 million reward."

Spin you right around

It is inevitable. That CD you've had in your player for weeks is going to get old, and you are going to be in the market for some new music. But where will you go to purchase that new CD? Your decision might not be an easy one, as Bloomington has an abundance of music stores. From large corporate stores like Barnes and Noble and Sam Goody to smaller local or regional shops such as Tracks and The Den, there is a record store to suit everyone's tastes. Though the corporately owned stores are well known for falling prices on their sale racks, some of the smaller stores in town find it difficult to compete with those sales. Tom Donohue, owner of TD's CDs and LPs, says his store cannot offer those kinds of deals to customers.

A ghost of a horror film

John Carpenter is bar-none one of the best genre directors working in Hollywood. He practically invented the horror film.

Fighting rages at Kandahar airport

KABUL, Afghanistan — Tribal fighters battled the Taliban at Kandahar airport Monday, and U.S. warplanes pounded the city and suspected terrorist hideouts along the Pakistan border. Afghan factions meeting in Germany adopted a framework for ruling the country.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Pierced from tongue to navel, Super low Levis on, this girl has some beef with a society that doesn't seem to care what she wants. Instead of placing her on equal turf with her male counterparts, the misogynistic air keeps thickening and breast size and complexion of her skin have seemed to become more important than heart and intelligence. It has just gotten old. Gone are the days of concubines and 100 wives for every man. Here are the days when it is about time women are judged by content of character, and not the gender they were born with or the amount of abs they decide to show.

'IDS' editorial board acts in cowardice with Knight editorial

I was shocked to read the IDS' staff editorial of March 21 wishing former basketball coach Bob Knight luck in his possible new job at Texas Tech University. So Knight's not fit to coach at IU, but Texas Tech is just the luckiest University ever to get a coach of his caliber?

Local band grooves in the studio

Fans of local band Three Minute Mile won't have to wait for the group's new album much longer.

Hitting the road to Penn State

The last time IU saw Penn State, the Hoosiers didn't do much of anything well. IU shot just 28 percent from the field and hit just one of 14 three-pointers. After finding themselves down by four points at halftime, the Hoosiers managed to stay in the game despite making only five second half field goals.

Greenhouse Effect

Those who have ever walked by Jordan Hall may have noticed a clear glass dome with wild green plants growing in it. Although they all know it's a greenhouse, some may wonder what it's used for, why there are red poinsettias pressed against the glass during Christmas season and whether there is anything else in the greenhouse besides green plants.

Helping people stretch frontiers

If you're looking for a new and exciting adventure this summer, try jumping out of an airplane 12,000 feet above the ground. That's what a group of IU students and Bloomington community members are doing Saturday in Greensburg, Ind. This skydiving trip is one of the many excursions IU Outdoor Adventures takes on a regular basis throughout the school year and the summer. IUOA is a campus organization that plans and coordinates various outdoor recreational activities at different locations around the United States. Located on the first floor in the Indiana Memorial Union at the student activities desk, anyone can sign up to participate -- regardless of skill level or experience.

'Music Man' boasts fantastic music, lacks flow

The glint in the eye of the young Winthrop Paroo as he belts out his show-stopper "Gary Indiana" marks the triumph of stubbornness in River City, Iowa by the glory and grace of music. Once Winthrop's young heart is won by the glamour of Harold Hill in Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man" the final chord is struck over the audience as well, and no one can keep from smiling ear to ear. The Tony award-winning musical from 1956 (which beat "West Side Story" for the coveted prize), now currently in a reincarnation on Broadway, epitomizes American nostalgia and its love for music that is purely American by showcasing everything from the Broadway ballad to barber-shop quartet.

Hoosiers' stifle defense stops Spartans

INDIANAPOLIS- Tom Izzo said he noticed the difference from the opening tip. Spartan Marcus Taylor said the same thing. And even though Michigan State realized it early, they couldn't do anything about it. The Hoosiers were just more intense than the Spartans Friday afternoon at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. That difference, particularly on defense, led to fourth-seeded IU's 67-56 win against the fifth-seeded Spartans in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Sophomore forward Jared Jeffries led the Hoosiers with 14 points while junior guard Tom Coverdale and senior guard Dane Fife each had 11 points.

Kiss-ins not necessary for acceptance

As members of the OUT executive board, we feel it is in our best interests to respond to Duncan Mitchel's column "Kiss Ins show we have a long way to go" (March 19).