Region

Lawsuit filed for slavery reparations

NEW YORK -- A federal lawsuit seeking unspecified reparations for the 35 million descendants of African slaves was filed Tuesday against the Aetna insurance company, the FleetBoston financial services group and railroad giant CSX.

Earthquake rocks Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan -- An earthquake devastated mountain villages in northern Afghanistan, where officials Tuesday estimated at least 1,800 people died and thousands more were injured in a region already hard-hit by hunger, drought and war. At the scene, the military commander from the Baglan region said the Monday night quake collapsed 20,000 mud-brick houses. Gen. Haider Kahn estimated between 600 and 1,000 people remained trapped and said the death toll could hit 2,000.

Act of kindness

Men's basketball coach Mike Davis shows his commitment to children with his three-year-old son, Antoine, in his arms. Davis donated his $25,000 bonus he received from winning a share of the Big Ten title to Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis. The money will be used to fund a program for underprivileged children.

Oscars: disappointment or not?

Back-to-back Russell Crowe movies named Best Picture? Are you kidding me? As usual, I'm pretty disappointed with the Best Picture winner, but that's the way it goes. Ron Howard's win and Ben Kingsley's loss were also annoying, and Whoopi -- while more tasteful than her last hosting duty in 1999 -- was not as funny Billy Crystal or Steve Martin. But this year's ceremony was not all bad. The Cirque du Soleil performance alone was worth tuning in for, as was the appearance of Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller. In fact, Sunday night's show featured many pleasant surprises and memorable moments, and so, here were my favorites.

'Scapino!' leaves audience laughing

Frank Dunlop and Jim Dale's "Scapino!" is loads of fun. From the very beginning, you are entertained by the clown-like "bum" of the show, played by an aptly goofy Brian Levin. But there is a lot more than his antics to immediately grab your attention when you enter the new Wells-Metz Theatre. The scene for this show, designed by Namok Bae, is fabulous. Built in the style of an Italian café, it is a masterpiece in pink stucco. Above and behind the two-story café hang the outlines of what would be houses in the distance, creating for the viewer not only an imaginative foreground but the appearance of a background as well.

Collins residents show work

As people gathered in the Education Gallery of the John Waldron Arts Center Friday for an exhibition of student photography, junior Kim Davis was somewhere getting her head shaved. "I ended up missing the entire opening because of the head-shaving," Davis said in reference to her work with the Riley Children's Hospital and her newfound baldness. Her hair will be used to make wigs for those who have lost their own hair through chemotherapy.

West Side, not Gary West

Just in case you pre-med majors were busy reading the "How to Heal a Point Guard's Sprained Ankle" in your textbooks or everybody else was busy practicing pronouncing Ebi Ere's name, I watched some of the high school state championship games over the weekend so you didn't have to watch. Let me just say you didn't miss much. The Indiana Class 4A state title game between West Side and Pike featured the usual anti-Region bias and subtle racism that has been going on for decades. West Side won 58-55, which, given what they had to go through, was just reward.

Around The Game

Baseball postponed, softball game canceled

Around The Region

South Bend shooting victim in critical condition Hug mistaken for attack, one man stabbed to death Man gets 60 years for killing pregnant woman, unborn child Convicted state trooper jailed alone

Coalition provides scholarships for students denied federal aid

Opponents of a 1998 law denying federal aid to thousands of college students with criminal drug records are trying to work around the law, authored by an Indiana congressman, by offering financial help to those affected. A coalition of drug-law reform groups plans Tuesday to inaugurate a scholarship for those denied aid because of drug records. The John W. Perry Memorial Fund scholarships honor a New York police officer who decried the war on drugs and died saving people in the World Trade Center Sept. 11.

IUPD Blotter

Around The Campus

Transgender Awareness Week Professor reflects on his life Black poet, activist to speak Latin American Music performance

Course improves students' confidence

Self-defense classes continue to be a popular course offered at IU. Students in the IUPD's program and the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation E151 self-defense class claim their confidence has increased and their perception of feeling safe has skyrocketed since taking a self-defense course.

IU composition professor wins Academy Award in Music, $7,500

The American Academy of Arts and Letters recently awarded IU professor Claude Baker with an Academy Award in music. Each of the four composers selected receive a $7,500 award along with an additional $7,500 to help fund the recording of one work. Baker has been nominated in the past, but this was the first successful nomination for him. Each year the academy invites members to select the winner after careful consideration of each of the nominees' scores and recordings. The award recognizes outstanding artistic development.

HPER offers skiing course

For many students, the ski slopes in Aspen, Colorado are a favorite winter and Spring Break destination, but normally students plan and go on the trip on their own. The School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation is opening a door to change by allowing students to receive three credits for the skiing experience. All students are invited to take HPER E296: Basic Alpine Skiing either the second eight weeks of the Fall 2002 semester or the first eight weeks of the Spring 2003 semester. The class will be held once a week for 2 hours. Students will be required to take a trip as a class to Aspen at the end of the course, with the fall semester students traveling January 5-10 and the spring students traveling March 16-21.

Basketball win celebrations should not be destructive

It\'s been a great post-season for the IU basketball teams. And now the men's team is preparing for the Final Four. Hoosier fans are vigorously supporting and celebrating the team's success. All that's great. However, some fans have taken their celebration into the destructive zone by destroying trees on campus and on Kirkwood and dumping trash into Jordan River in Dunn Meadow.

Adoption should be open to homosexuals

Bravo and congratulations to Stephanie Sims for publishing her convictions about gay couples and adoption. I agree entirely that "(h)omosexuals should have the same rights as anyone else, including a right to adopt a child," and I hope that her focus on the children who need loving parents helps convince lawmakers and other people that gay couples should indeed be allowed to adopt.

Actors, actresses need to address their dress at awards show show

My dreams of looking like a movie star have finally come true. This morning I woke up looking like Cameron Diaz. Everything was the same. The hair, the clothes, I was ready to take my place on the red carpet. And if you watched the Oscars Sunday night, you know what I mean. This morning my messy bedhead and flowery bathrobe achieved the exact same look that Diaz probably spent thousands of dollars on to display at the Oscars.

Pressure not necessary; 4-year college life not for everyone

Well, I would say that I'm just drifting. Although these words were uttered while floating in a suburban pool, this declaration by Ben to his father in the film "The Graduate" applies to so many young adults. It is impossible to count the amount of people I know who have dropped out of college, switched schools, changed majors or are just "drifting."

Pride back in Bloomington

The spirit of IU is back. Since losing Bobby Knight two years ago, some people thought Hoosier basketball would never be the same. Guess again. The IU basketball team and its success have revived the enthusiasm and liveliness of the students.