Longform

Religious discussion not 'safe'

I was pleased to learn the CommUNITY Education Program has been sponsoring discussions on religion and spirituality, such as the recent meeting Tuesday in Teter Quad. I hope people will continue talking. You can't sum up one religion or worldview in one hour or evening; any such discussion can only be a beginning. And it seems to be difficult to get such discussion to continue, especially informed discussion.

On and off the course

As a fifth-year senior, Rich Thomas has seen a lot of twists and turns in his golf career. So it probably should have come as no surprise that he ended up becoming golfing buddies with none other than Principal Belding of "Saved by the Bell" this summer. But you better not call him Screech. "I'd rather be called Zack or Slater," Thomas joked.

Terrorist detainees face mistreatment

NEW YORK -- Some of the Middle Eastern men jailed in the terror investigation are complaining that they have been held in solitary confinement, stripped, blindfolded, roughed up and deprived of sleep. "I was treated worse than an animal," Yazeed Al-Salmi, a former housemate of one of the hijackers, said after he was released this month from the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Al-Salmi, a Saudi living in California, said he and others were stripped and videotaped.

Widow of Goshen factory shooting victim files claim

GOSHEN, Ind. -- The widow of a factory manager killed in a workplace shooting spree has filed a $2 million claim against the estate of the man who killed her husband. Michelle Oswald's husband, Greg, was shot by Robert Wissman Dec. 6, 2001, at Nu-Wood Decorative Millwork.

Senior sets goals, leads team

This is the last year for senior Erin Womble on the women's cross country team, and she doesn't want the disappointment the team experienced last year. Then, the Hoosiers were on the bubble of making it to the NCAA meet. This year, Womble said she looks to head to Greenville, South Carolina, site of this year's NCAA's. She looks past last year's frustration and sees a positive. "We were on the bubble and almost there. Now we think, 'What can we do?' Everyone was let down, and we don't want that feeling again," she said.

Middle Way director makes a difference

Domestic violence is the most common crime in the United States -- and the least reported one. It is also the most serious cause of injury women face, according to the Middle Way House's Web site.

Decision time for top recruits

IU is expected to officially land three men's basketball recruits today, the first day recruits can sign national letters of intent. Six-foot-three, 186-pound Bracey Wright (The Colony, Texas) verbally committed to the Hoosiers in September after averaging 21.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, three assists and two steals per game for the Cougars.

Kirkwood's hollow victory

Congratulations, Kirkwood! You persevered through election challenges and contests to lead the IU Student Association into a bright future…or not. It seems as if the 2002 IUSA election accomplished only one thing (and I'm not talking about the selection of Kirkwood). It made politicians look dignified.

Letters to the editor

Columnist wrong; Israel retaliations not acts of terror I disagree with Malcolm Fleming's entire letter Jan. 18 (Sept. 11 terrorist attacks not the same as Palestine-Israel conflict) and would love to deconstruct it point-by-point. But, as I don't have the requisite column-inches, I'll suffice to dispute his equation of Palestinian terror with Israeli "terror." Fleming writes, "Both Israel and Palestine are guilty of terrorism, meaning the killing of unarmed civilians of the other side." Wow. What a generous definition of terrorism. Are we honestly expected to believe that there is no moral difference between Israeli attacks on terrorists which happen to kill civilians and, say, last week's terrorist attack on a little girl's Bat Mitzvah party in Hadera? Is the failure of Palestinian apologists after Sept. 11 so desperate that it has come to such outlandish (and unquestionably faulty) attempts at moral equivalency? Terrorists, you see, don't just kill innocent civilians. If that were the case, every off-target American bomb in Afghanistan would be a terrorist attack. Terrorists TARGET innocent civilians. And Israel doesn't do that.

Epidemic still an issue

Twenty years after the AIDS threat came to the forefront of the American consciousness, it has become all too easy for us to let AIDS fall to the corner of our minds. With new drug cocktails that can prolong the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS years beyond what we originally thought possible, HIV/AIDS doesn't seem to most of us like it's a big problem anymore. This, unfortunately, is very far from the truth. According to a new study released by UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, an estimated 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV in 2001. There have been 3 million AIDS-related deaths already this year, and 5 million new HIV infections. The study also says that one-third of those currently living with HIV/AIDS are aged 15-24, and most of them are not aware that they have even been infected with the virus.

Rusted Root still ready to 'party'

Letters to the editor

Opposition surrounds Kunduz

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The northern alliance tightened its siege on the last Taliban bastion in the north, Kunduz, where foreign fighters loyal to Osama bin Laden reportedly were preventing a Taliban surrender. Four international journalists were feared dead after gunmen ambushed their convoy in eastern Afghanistan.

Paying the price for MTV's success

Paying the price for MTV's success Weaning the masses: one who was there reflects on 20 years of MTV Twenty years and not always pop Video regresses: 20 years of MTV

"Pearl Harbor," entertaining, action packed

Memorial Day weekend is often viewed as the opening of the summer movie season. This year, for a change, the movie opening on Memorial Day weekend actually had some relevance to the weekend, as "Pearl Harbor" opened up. The movie is the latest from the blockbuster team of director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The trailers are a little misleading, but overall the film fulfills the typical summer movie experience.

Ghettobillies

Rain dampens teams' hopes

The Corleones and Kappa Kappa Gamma won the 2002 Little 500 series without even setting foot on the track for the final event.

Good songs gone bad

Bill may affect student visas

Congress is debating a visa bill that could affect Bloomington's international student community in the near future. The makeup of future classes of IU international students could change if the legislation passes. Catalyzed by a speech by President George W. Bush last week, four congressmen are working on legislation to tighten immigration requirements for international students wishing to study in the United States.

What's hip?