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Raising awareness in Africa

This summer, senior Kunal Desai didn't think about sleeping in or slacking off. He forgot about homework; finding a job was the last of his priorities and preparing for MCATs seemed a distant task. Instead, for three months, the biochemistry major committed himself to the task of helping others in a totally unfamiliar place.

No smoking, please

According to the United States Fire Association Web site, about 1,000 deaths, 3,000 serious injuries, and several billion dollars in costs of property loss, health care, and pain and suffering result each year in the United States from fires started by dropped cigarettes. Given these statistics and the concern for the general health of its students, Valparaiso University decided to ban smoking in its residence halls. Some would argue that smoking in residence halls is fine as long as smokers are put in the same area of the building. Then they aren't forcing a health risk on non-smokers. But pairing people together on smoking floors isn't good enough.

A million cheering fans congratulate Queen Elizabeth II on Golden Jubilee

LONDON -- Huge flag-waving crowds cheered Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday in a display of loyalty and affection as Britain celebrated the 50th anniversary of her reign with regal processions and an exuberant international carnival.

Hoosiers only win one of three

The IU baseball team fought hard this weekend in a pivotal Big Ten series with Ohio State, but they were only able to get one victory in three games at Sembower Field. Rainfall cancelled game four, which ruined IU's chance of a series split. The Hoosiers (28-10, 9-6 Big Ten) fell two games behind the first place Buckeyes (23-10-1, 11-4) for the conference lead.

Criticism of 'A Beautiful Mind' irks filmmakers

LOS ANGELES -- The makers of "A Beautiful Mind" have objected to what they say is a whisper campaign to hurt the Oscar chances of their movie, which is up for eight Academy Awards including best picture.

I wish I may...

For the past 12 months the entertainment world has been tossed up with a sugercoating in music and wit in movies, only to be trampled with the rest of the United States after Sept. 11. We lost Aaliyah and George Harrison. Movies were held back for violence or to remove clips of the World Trade Center from their backgrounds. Who knows what next year holds. Here's my list of wishes I can't wait to see happen.

IU technology emerges in Indy

IU recently launched a multi-million dollar project to cultivate life science businesses, in an effort to spur Indiana's economic growth and thereby increase future state aids for education.

Bush calls for new security checks

WASHINGTON -- The administration ordered new security checks for airline workers Monday and granted mortgage relief to thousands of reservists called to active duty as part of the coming war on terrorism. The stock market rallied after last week's plunge. "We'll come out of this and we'll come out of it strong," said President George W. Bush, as he sought to coax investors and consumers to open their wallets. Despite the impact of this month's terror attacks on the economy, he said, "The fundamentals for growth are very strong."

FBI report shows reversal in falling crime statistics

WASHINGTON -- The number of murders in the United States rose by 3.1 percent last year as police departments nationwide reported an overall increase in major crimes for the first time in a decade, a law enforcement official said.

Costello attracts new and old fans with rereleases

Catalog sales of older CD titles are continuing to dwindle as Baby Boomers finally convert their LP collection to digital. And while it's likely there will always be college freshmen lining up to buy Bob Marley's Legend, you can also expect to see an ever-widening parade of spiffy re-releases advertising remastering, repackaging and the ever-popular extra bonus tracks. Elvis Costello gets his second turn on the re-release merry-go-round starting this month. Costello's early 1977-1987 catalog was originally reissued by Rykodisc in the mid-1990s. Now, after some of his older titles are falling briefly out of print, Rhino Records is again re-releasing his first 17 albums in groups of three. Instead of releasing them in chronological order, the groups of three in question are spread out over the periods of Costello's long and diverse career.

TV violence brings no peace

So just how much is too much? A study released last Thursday in Science magazine found that too much TV as an adolescent might result in increased aggression and violence as an adult. All it takes is three hours or more of television watching a day to leave a lasting impact. This study, which tracked around 700 boys and girls over the course of 17 years, might make some parents nervous and others a bit skeptical about watching so much television.

Hanks guns for a third Oscar in 'Perdition'

Many critics have compared Sam Mendes' sophomore directorial effort to Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather," and while both films revolve around the world of organized crime the similarities stop there. "Road to Perdition" is a mafia film, but first and foremost it's a tale of fathers and sons.

Crow still rocks, but doesn't grow

Activists plan resistance

Bloomington activists have planned a "week of resistance," starting Sunday, to coincide with Frank Ambrose's April 5 court appearance. Police have charged Ambrose, a prominent local environmentalist, with driving nails into trees set aside for lumber in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest last June. Timber spiking, a class D felony in Indiana, carries a punishment of up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Poor Sunday round hurts Hoosiers

The men's golf team struggled to get through the Finkbine Golf Course Sunday in the Big Ten Championship. The Hoosiers finished sixth overall. Minnesota won the event, followed by Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern and Michigan State. The team shot a round of 300, 12 over par -- the second-worst score of Sunday's final round. Wisconsin was the only team to shoot worse with a 13 over par.

New law has gray areas

Recently, as another part of the domestic war on terrorism, Attorney General John Ashcroft pushed through a new exception that would allow prison officials to listen in on conversations between inmates and their lawyers, and disreguard the attorney-client priviledge. Attorney-client privilege is a tool used by every lawyer to make sure he or she can get all the facts straight before going to court. It's something defendants use to feel completely comfortable when they are talking to their lawyers. It's something that has been a part of civil liberties for many years, and it is something we should not to tamper with. Like many parts of the new anti-terrorist legislation that was recently pushed through, this too is a very frightening attack on our rights.

Child's death overshadows Armstrong's solid ride

PAU, France -- A child's death overshadowed Lance Armstrong's ride to the foot of the Pyrenees, where he is expected to make his first serious assault on this year's Tour de France. Before riders started Wednesday's 10th leg from Bazas to Pau, a car from the Tour convoy struck and killed a 7-year-old boy who was crossing the stage route.

Taking his knowledge on the road

Brett Dvorak grew up watching Jeopardy. The junior watches new shows and old shows; it doesn't matter to him. He watches the show so much he actually stayed up-to-date on Alex Trebeck's famous mustache, which Dvorak reaffirms is now noticeably missing. It is only fitting that a true fanatic like Dvorak can fulfill his dream and compete on his favorite show.

'McCool's' lacks humor, quality, entertainment

The writer and director of "One Night at McCool's" are bigger teases than my high school girlfriend. They should never have an opportunity to make another movie after the disappointing, not funny, leave you blue (not depressed), annoying dud of a movie they turned out.

Council raises concerns

The Bloomington Economic Development Corporation won't be seeing any new faces for a while. In a marathon session Wednesday, the members of the Bloomington City Council raised several concerns with an ordinance to broaden the BEDC membership base to include a more diverse population. The resolution, sponsored by council members Andy Ruff and Jeffrey Willsey, was voted down 3-6.