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Berry, Washington, Poitier mark historic Oscar night for black actors

LOS ANGELES -- On a night when Sidney Poitier described how different Hollywood was 53 years ago, the Academy Awards showcased how different as Halle Berry and Denzel Washington joined Poitier as the only black actors to win Oscars for lead roles. Berry won Sunday for her part as a death-row widow in "Monster's Ball," and Washington won for "Training Day," in which he dropped his nice-guy persona to play a flamboyantly corrupt cop.

Unemployment expected to rise

Many economists and investors agree the economy's lowest point was the last year's fourth quarter and expect some recovery over the new year. But many argue that the pattern of the recovery will be somewhat different from business cycle recoveries since World War II. The assumption is based on the unprecedented economic boom of the 1990's, which was partly caused by over-heated investments.

Around The Game

The IU women's rowing team opens its spring season in Sacramento, Calif., this weekend. The Sacramento Invitational, played host to by Cal State-Sacramento, involves eight teams, including Cal-Berkeley and Cal-Davis, who made it to the NCAA Championships in 2001.

Davis becomes 1st black coach in IU history

Mike Davis sat in a folding chair Wednesday on the floor of Assembly Hall during his first day as head coach of the men's basketball team. He is the 184th head coach in IU athletics history, and among that group he is unique. It's not that he takes over the school's most visible program. It's not that he wore an "interim" tag before being promoted. It's not that he wears a suit instead of a red sweater. It's race -- the other 183 Hoosier coaches weren't black. Davis is.

Sudanese man returned to Saudi Arabia for trial

A suspected al-Qaida leader who claims to have fired a missile at a U.S. warplane leaving a Saudi Arabian base was returned to Saudi Arabia for trial, Sudan said Sunday.

OLIVER winery

Many of us pass by Oliver Winery on Route 37 and have never stopped. Its landscape looks a bit odd because of giant rocks that give the impression of a miniature golf course. But beyond the brief glance from a speeding car window is an amazing and relaxing atmosphere where people of different backgrounds and nationalities come to indulge in wine and conversation.

Amateur brackets gone wrong

By the time the final horn sounded in the Hoosiers' loss Thursday in San Diego, my brackets were already in trouble. By Sunday night they were shredded to pieces.

Growing IU interest in foreign languages

In the wake of Sept. 11, there has been a sharp increase in the number of students taking interest in the languages of Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

Letters to the editor

'Little Women' review not addressed properly as an opera Your opera reviewer, Gabriel Lewin, is an idiot ("'Little Women' provides segue to stardom," Feb. 4). Neither the French nor Italian opera traditions contain lasting works that were written as a star vehicle for a performer; they were composed for the entertainment of an audience. No performer was able to make significant changes in a role without risking the wrath of the public, which knew what to expect.

Music festival kicks off

The recital halls will resonate with the stylings of Handel, Bach, and the great masters of classical music. Lilting soprano melodies and the harmonies of barbershop quartets will reverberate in the University's great performance venues.

Jet crashes in Queens

NEW YORK -- An American Airlines jetliner on its way to the Dominican Republic crashed moments after takeoff Monday in a residential neighborhood five miles from Kennedy Airport, authorities said. There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries. Bill Schumann of the Federal Aviation Administration said there was no immediate indication of what caused the crash, which came two months after two hijacked airliners brought down the World Trade Center.

This year's model

With the release of Love is Here, the cynic in me wants to declare Starsailor "this year's Coldplay," just as last year the cynic in me wanted to declare Coldplay "this year's Travis." The similarities are there, to be sure -- sensitive British guitar bands heavy on tunes and melodrama, light on innovation. But where Travis trades on their everyman affability and Coldplay gets by with singer Chris Martin's doe-eyed innocence, Starsailor brews a blend of sexual frustration and 20-something angst all their own -- one that won't set the world on fire, but makes for a satisfying listen all the same.

IU volleyball game, Major League Baseball games canceled

The IU women's volleyball match scheduled for 7 p.m. is canceled because of today's terrorist attacks.

Do I win an award for this one?

I have just learned that the column I wrote earlier this year about my first date has been nominated for an award. This blows my mind. If I knew I could get awards for telling embarrassing facts about myself when I was younger, I would have started doing this long ago.

Goalie switches sports, makes mark

When junior goalie Molly Pulkrabek came to IU she expected to be in the net for the Hoosiers. Pulkrabek lettered three times in soccer at Barrington High School in Illinois and came to IU to play for the women's soccer team. She played her freshman year, but in 2000 decided to defend a different net when the field hockey team turned from a club squad to a varsity sport.

Town Hall meeting discusses slave reparations ad in 'IDS'

More than 50 students, faculty and community members gathered Tuesday night in the Teter Formal Lounge to discuss an advertisement that ran in the IDS opposing reparations for descendants of slaves. The advertisement, paid for by David Horowitz, ran in Friday's edition of the IDS.

The best from the beau of zydeco

School to discuss legendary work of Ernie Pyle

Ernie Pyle, a legendary writer for World War II will be the topic of tonight's discussion at Tri-North Middle High School. The discussion leads up to Sunday's live broadcast of "American Writers II" from Pyle's birthplace in Dana, Ind.

No Morals, No Freedom

Americans could use a little less freedom. No, I'm not saying we should abandon our right to participate in democratic processes, but to what extent, exactly, are we entitled personal freedoms? Washington and Jefferson lived in an era based on religion. Today, our society has shed most of its religious faith and jumped on the immoral bandwagon. When people live without answering to a higher power, the democratic system begins to crack.

Wesley Willis