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(07/25/02 8:23pm)
The freshman who died last month of head trauma struck his head on a metal door frame minutes after performing a keg stand at Theta Chi fraternity, police said. The prosecutor said charges will not be filed.\nSeth Korona, 19, died Feb. 4 of bleeding in the brain caused by the trauma, Monroe County Coroner David Toumey said. Korona attended a Jan. 27-28 party at Theta Chi, was hospitalized Jan. 29 and was in a coma until his death.\nWhen Korona fell backward and struck his head, people around him thought he had passed out from drinking, IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said.\nMonroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzmann said he will not file charges in the case.\n"Our original intent was to investigate to make sure there was no foul play," Salzmann said. "After all the investigation, what we have discovered is a tragic train of circumstances that led up to the death."\nKorona's family declined to comment Sunday through family friend Debra Neilson. She would not say whether the family was considering legal action against the University.\nAssociate Dean of Students Damon Sims said the dean's office has not seen the full report, but will be interested in taking any action suggested by the report. Sims said action against Theta Chi is likely and action against individuals is possible.\nSims said it is time for everyone to take another look at alcohol prevention and education on campus. The University has worked for 20 years to address alcohol use, but new approaches and "tricks" might now be necessary, Sims said.\n"Most students are concerned with working around the policy, rather than addressing abusive, high-risk drinking," Sims said.\nSims said IU is a dry campus only in terms of the policy.\n"No one believes there's no alcohol on campus," Sims said. "It's certainly not a dry campus effectively."\nSims said that although the climate on campus has improved slightly in recent years, student involvement will be needed to prevent what happened to Korona from happening to someone else.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
An IU committee will recommend putting off universal bus access for students for at least another year, opting instead for a plan similar to the current one, IU officials said. \nThe IU transportation committee will present its proposal, which includes free rides on all Bloomington Transit buses and a stadium-to-campus shuttle, to the board of trustees today. The services would require a student ID.\nThe plan will cost students about $26 per semester, an increase of about $5, said IU Vice President for Administration Terry Clapacs, a member of the transportation committee. The proposal would give students access to the stadium shuttle and Bloomington Transit service, Clapacs said. Besides the new service, the committee considered rising fuel costs and inflation in the fee increase.\nThis year students were charged about $21 per semester for the first phase of universal bus service, which provides access to Bloomington Transit with a student ID.\nThe full universal plan would have cost each student about $40 per semester -- if all Bloomington and IU services remained the same, said IU Student Association President Meredith Suffron, a senior.\nThe bus plan is on the agenda during the time for President Myles Brand's remarks. That time is used to present information to the board, but the trustees do not vote on issues raised during Brand's comment period.\nTransportation committee members had considered three options for next year -- leave the service the same, add a stadium-to-campus route or fully implement universal access. The universal campus bus service was initially proposed by IUSA, which opposed the phase-in plan eventually implemented by the trustees, Suffron said.\nClapacs said the committee wanted to wait another year to get more information and to ensure that a streamlined and cost-effective universal access plan is put in place.\n"We want to make sure the two systems are operating as efficiently as possible before adopting any student fee increase," Clapacs said.\nThe University will undertake a joint study with Bloomington Transit next year to find ways to eliminate duplication and improve service before a universal plan is implemented, Clapacs said.\nAbout $535,000 from IU's transportation fee was applied to Bloomington Transit's budget this year, said Wayne Barnett, Bloomington Transit controller.\nSuffron, a member of the transportation committee, said she fought to have the additional route added to the pre-paid service.\n"If the point of (the bus plan) is to encourage people to walk on campus, then having the shuttle is a good idea," Suffron said. "It will help a lot of students get to and from campus without the hassle."\nThe plan still has its critics, including graduate student Joshua Wells. Wells set up a Web site opposing the plan in January.\n"(The bus plan) obviously does not benefit the majority of IU students. It should first and foremost focus on IU," Wells said. "The focus right now is on transit in the Bloomington community."\nWells said he was opposed to all three options considered by the transportation committee.\nSuffron said she hopes another year of research will provide valuable information, leading to better universal bus service in the future.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Campus judicial officials will consider charges against about 25 students for alcohol-related violations of the University Code of Ethics that occurred at a Theta Chi fraternity party.\nThe University expelled Theta Chi and its nationals revoked its charter after the Jan. 27 party, where alcohol was served. An IU freshman died a week later of head injuries he sustained at the party.\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said he expects letters informing individuals of the charges against them will be mailed early next week.\nBefore he received the police report, McKaig said he expected campus judicial proceedings to commence for individuals who were at the party. When he received the report last week, he said the decision became clear.\nAfter reading the report, McKaig said he instructed the Office of Student Ethics to determine who would be charged.\n"I've asked for the names identified in the report to be isolated with the names of their violations, so charge letters can be sent," McKaig said.\nHe said the charges range from underage drinking to actions that endanger a student, the community or the academic process. McKaig said the police report provides information about people who were drinking, who planned the event and people who brought alcohol into the house, but does not reveal who purchased the alcohol.\nMcKaig said judicial proceedings on campus are not rare -- there are about 2,000 per year. But he said charging 25 individuals from a single incident is unusual.\nCampus judicial proceedings are meant to be educational and to help students, said IU Student Association Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Cioffi, a senior.\nWhile the goal of the process is to help students, sometimes members have no choice, said IUSA Associate Justice Brian Clifford, a sophomore.\n"There are some cases where sanctions have to be severe," Clifford said.\nThe letters students receive include citation of the specific section of the code they allegedly violated, an explanation of violations, a paragraph about their rights and instructions about scheduling hearings, McKaig said.\nMcKaig said the process could contain three steps, but how far it goes is up the student. Because of the high number of people charged in this incident, some students will go to the greek judicial board, some to the campus judicial board and some will be presided over by an administrative hearing officer, McKaig said.\nEach residence hall has a judicial board, and the greek system has one of its own.\nFollowing judicial board, students are given a verbal explanation of the decision and receive written confirmation within a week, McKaig said. They then have a set number of days to accept or request a hearing commission to appeal the decision. The commission is composed of two faculty members and one student judicial officer, usually an IUSA associate justice. \nAfter that, McKaig said students can appeal to the faculty, administration and student review board, a three-person panel that serves all year. As chief justice, Cioffi serves on that board.\nPossible punishment includes reprimand, probation, community service, alcohol classes, suspension and expulsion, Cioffi said.\n"We're allowed to give any punishment we're willing to monitor," Cioffi said.\nMcKaig said while many students view the campus judicial process as disciplinary punishment, it can help with alcohol education and point out risks involved with underage drinking.\n"The institution's primary purpose is educational," McKaig said. "We want individuals to learn from their behavior"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
It wasn't the kind of day Cheryl Coverdale likes to spend indoors. A warm breeze blew, birds sang and signs of spring were everywhere.\nSaturday was the kind of day Coverdale, 47, would have liked to spend gardening. Instead, she was sharing her dying wish at a gathering organized by her son and his best friend at Delta Chi fraternity, 1100 N. Jordan Ave.\nCoverdale has terminal brain cancer. Her son, freshman Ayron Gabbert, his friend freshman Sekou Kante and other members of Delta Chi fraternity raised enough money to send Coverdale to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. She had always wanted to go to the beach but had never gone, Gabbert said.\nAyron Gabbert was told Friday his mother is now too sick to make the trip.\nSaturday, family, friends, Delta Chi members and members of Delta Gamma sorority attended a cookout luncheon and awards presentation for Coverdale. At the emotional celebration, poetry was read and songs were sung. Several members of the basketball team attended; junior guard Tom Coverdale is Gabbert's cousin by marriage.\nBecause they couldn't honor Coverdale's dream, Kante, Gabbert and Delta Chi presented her with a check for $500 to cover medical expenses and created a foundation in her name to honor the last wishes of adults with terminal disease.\n"The wish she didn't get will carry on and help someone else," Gabbert said.\nA plaque with blank spaces for future recipients was unveiled at the luncheon.\nA family friend read a proclamation from Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez that named April 7, 2001 Cheryl Coverdale Day.\nShe was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1999, in the fall of Gabbert's senior year in high school, he said. The cancer went into remission.\nReturning from a trip to the Bahamas during winter break, Gabbert shared pictures of white sand on pristine beaches with his mother. That's when she decided she wanted to spend time on the beach, he said.\nGabbert said his mom's cancer reappeared a month later. This time, it was more serious.\nAround Coverdale's hospital room, Gabbert put up pictures of the beach. Nurses said she dreamed of the beach, and Gabbert said she woke up believing she was sitting on the sand.\n"She knows when she passes away she'll be sitting on the beach," Gabbert said.\nAs an "old hippie," Coverdale said her dying wish is for her son's generation to take better care of the environment than hers did.\n"I challenge them to clean up the Earth I spent my whole career getting cleaned up," Coverdale said.\nShe said she is proud of her son, her daughter Lyndall, who also attended the celebration, and the "20 or 30 kids who call me 'Mom.'"\nRev. David Woodcock of the First Assembly Church of God, who said prayers at the event, said the day was an admirable accomplishment.\n"I'm glad to see the young people of this campus getting involved in the lives of someone other than their own," Woodcock said.\nDelta Chi President Jeff Chandler, a junior, said the celebration affected a lot of people.\n"Last summer, I lost my mom," Chandler said. "This is a good time to remember -- it should be a joyous occasion."\nGabbert said he will always remember working with his mother in gardens all over the city, camping and boating together on Lake Monroe and the pets that were always around.\nThe family volunteered to train a golden retriever to help a person in a wheelchair, Gabbert said. Coverdale got attached to it but had to give it up. Soon after, the company called them back to say the dog had a hip problem.\nCoverdale and her dog Bert are still inseparable, Gabbert said. Bert visits her in the nursing home, he said.\nSaturday, Coverdale struggled to hear as her son spoke at the ceremony.\n"Thank you for loving me and being there when I needed you," Gabbert said.\nGabbert said friends and family, especially his fraternity brothers, have helped him through the experience.\n "It's hard knowing its going to happen, but its good because you can prepare for it," Gabbert said.\n Kante said he remembers the first time he met Coverdale. She slapped his hand away when he attempted to shake hers and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek, Kante said.\n He and Gabbert have been friends and classmates since middle school in Bloomington. Kante said he was happy to give his time to his best friend's mom to try to help her realize her dream and ensure her memory lives on.\n"People wait till it's too late to do something ... to say I love you," Kante said.\nTo donate to the Delta Chi Cheryl Coverdale Foundation, call Sekou Kante at 327-2154, Kurt Caldwell at 337-9180 or e-mail skante@indiana.edu.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Last year, senior Matt Robinson cleaned his apartment the day before he heard about the Messiest College Apartment contest.\nHe wasn't worried: Robinson knew it wouldn't take long to duplicate his mess.\nThis year, having forgotten about the contest, Robinson saw a banner advertisement for the Apartments.com promotion.\nHe decided to enter -- his room was ready.\nMonday, Robinson was announced as the contest's winner. His mess earned him $10,000 and an offer to help clean it up. His landlord will be given a free advertising package on the apartment-services Web site.\nAt Robinson's apartment at Scholar's Rock II, 163 E. 17th St., clothes and spoiled food are strewn everywhere. A 40-ounce Slurpy cup is full of cigarette butts. The porcelain of the bathroom sink is hidden by piles of toothpaste tubes, hair gel and brushes. The furry blob in the refrigerator that looks like a pizza is a five-month-old cheesecake.\nRobinson said he hasn't cleaned his room in seven months.\n"My mess is like my roommate," Robinson said. "I just let it have its space, and finally it's pulling its own weight."\nInstead of just paying rent, the mess brought in $10,000. Robinson said he plans to get rid of his Chevette and pay back money he owes to his mother. But he's not sure if he'll accept an offer from Apartments.com to send a cleaning company to help with his apartment.\nKarrie Gottschild, Apartment.com's self-proclaimed "Mess Mistress," said Robinson was the overwhelming choice for messiest apartment.\n"It's a total niche group of people who live like this," Gottschild said. "The point is to find the worst case and give them money to clean up their act."\nGottschild, an alumna, said rooms were judged by a three-part test -- clutter level, neglect and filth.\nTim Henke, co-founder of Renaissance Rentals, the owner of Scholar's Rock, called the messiest apartment award "a dubious honor."\n"We've warned him before, and he cleaned it up," Henke said. "This go-round we learned about it shortly before the contest was over and gritted our teeth and hoped he would win and clean up immediately thereafter."\n"If you're gonna enter a contest you might as well win."\nIn its second year, the Messiest College Apartment contest drew 39 entries, and 5,600 votes were cast for three finalists. The contest was launched Feb. 1, and the deadline for entry was March 9.\nGottschild said Apartments.com holds the contest in the spring, since students' apartments aren't "ready" in the fall.\nRobinson said he was a little worried about one of his two finalist competitors, but voted for himself every day to make sure he won. Contest rules permitted one vote per person, per day. He said media interview and e-mail feedback have opened his eyes to his living environment. \n"It never occurred to me how disgusting this was until this contest," Robinson said.\nHe said he plans to return to IU next year but isn't sure where he'll live. Henke said it might be hard to find a place.\n"I don't know where he's going to go at the end of the lease," Henke said. "He might have to change his name."\nBut in his hometown of Liberty, Ind., Robinson has apparently become a celebrity.\nHe said he's heard a rumor he'll be invited to be grand marshall of the Fourth of July parade in the small southeastern Indiana town.\nThey plan to ask him to ride in a trash truck, he said.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
While the the race to get drunk during Little 500 week is sometimes as anticipated as the race itself, alcohol abuse on campus is a year-round issue.\nA panel of six students and campus officials discussed this problem with about 10 people at the Indiana Memorial Union Tuesday. During the conversation, panelists addressed a variety of questions and dealt with many aspects of alcohol on campus.\nDespite the apparent end of fraternity parties, IU's campus is still not dry, Dean of Students Richard McKaig said.\nLast year, a big fraternity party might have had 300 to 400 guests and 200 cases of beer, said sophomore Zach Scott, director of risk management for the Interfraternity Council. Now the largest parties have only 30 or 40 people, he said.\n"Most intelligent (fraternity) presidents don't risk it," Scott said.\nMcKaig said millions of dollars in surveys, research and new regulations on alcohol in the last 10 years have had little effect on campus alcohol use.\nAlcohol abuse is perceived in different ways by different people, McKaig said. Some people voice concerns about the "extremes" of drinking, such as when students die, he said. Residents of Bloomington sometimes argue it's only a problem when it strays from campus.\nMcKaig said many students see the problem in their own way.\n"They say 'the alcohol problem is we want to drink, and you won't let us,'" McKaig said.\nIU Student Association director of health and safety Brian Daviduke, a sophomore, stressed the importance of "appropriate" drinking.\n"Be smart," Daviduke said. "You can't stop (people from) drinking, but you can promote the idea that you have a limit."\nDaviduke said the panel was a good opportunity to raise concerns or suggestions.\nPanelists were Scott; McKaig; Daviduke; Dee Owens, director of the Alcohol and Drug Information Center; junior Ellen Hommerding, vice president of risk management for Panhellenic Association; and Willke Quad President Ilia Smith, a junior.\nMcKaig said the battle against underage drinking will continue.\n"It's a constant battle," McKaig said. "If you go after kegs, you get cans. If you go after cans, you get kegs. If you go after kegs and cans, you get Everclear."\nOwens said Mothers Against Drunk Driving plans to rank college campuses on alcohol issues to alert parents to the most dangerous colleges.\nAn audience member asked whether fraternity parties still had 20-30 kegs, as he had witnessed in the 1980s.\nHommerding and Scott said drinking still goes on in greek houses, but that big parties no longer occur. Increased enforcement has led to more drinking off campus, especially at the bars, Scott said.\nJunior Disha Puri, an audience member, expressed her concerns as a resident assistant.\n"I want to call someone to get them help but not to get them charged," Puri said. "We need an option."\nPuri said that not allowing alcohol in dorm rooms encourages binge drinking elsewhere.\nMcKaig said the discussion was a constructive way to promote education and responsible alcohol use.\n"We want to engage students in a constructive dialogue of alcohol on campus," McKaig said.\nMcKaig said such forums fight misinformation and allow regulations to be explained.\nSourabh Agarwal, Union Board director for debates and issues, organized the panel discussion. Agarwal, a sophomore, said Union Board will sponsor two similar discussions about alcohol next year.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
IU and Purdue will combine some of their strengths in January, offering a distance education double-degree program to employees of General Motors, Indiana's largest private-sector employer, University officials announced last week.\nIt will provide employees of the world's largest vehicle manufacturer with advanced degrees, IU with a large pool of qualified applicants and the state of Indiana with a better trained workforce, officials said.\nThe rival universities will offer a one-two punch to GM management candidates -- a master's of engineering from Purdue and a master's of business administration from IU.\nIU's Kelley School of Business and Purdue's Continuing Engineering Education program will offer the double-degree program.\nThe program will be accessed through the Internet and will include material tailored to GM and the automotive industry. But unlike some similar programs, students sponsored by GM will be required to go through the same IU application process, said Richard Magjuka, director of distance education for the Kelley school.\nEmployees will be able to earn their master's degree from their home or office using the Web and other media. After earning technical master's degrees from Purdue or other universities, GM engineers then would be eligible to apply for the online MBA program at the Kelley School.\nIU Kelley School Dean Dan Dalton said in a statement that he was "delighted" with the partnership.\n"It is said that you are known by the company you keep; this is, indeed, terrific company," Dalton said in a statement. "Most importantly, however, it is the students who will benefit from the concerted efforts and resources of this consortium."\nOther universities offering master's degrees in engineering through the program are Carnegie Mellon University, Kettering University and the University of Michigan. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will offer a master of science degree in management.\nGM put a bid asking IU and its peer institutions to reply to a request for a distance technology education program, Magjuka said.\n"A number of institutions wanted to develop this relationship and we were able to get it," Magjuka said. "It also enables us to begin developing a relationship with Purdue engineering -- important since Purdue has an extensive distance engineering program, and because they have very good students."\nMagjuka said a major consideration to offering this program was maintaining the high standards and quality of the Kelley program. The University was able to do that, he said.\nThe Kelley Direct program is the only such graduate management program offered by a top 20 business school that is entirely Web-based, according to an IU press release. It uses discussion and debate forums, online testing, audiostreaming and videostreaming, simulations and time-revealed scenarios for case-based learning. Kelley also offered the first fully online MBA of nationally ranked top-20 business schools.\nEmployees of corporate partners go through the program, while IU benefits as corporate partners build programming, professors keep in touch with corporations and money is raised for the school, said Meghan Boston, director of marketing for Kelley Executive Partners and for the online MBA.\n"Companies raised the need that their employees needed MBA-level skills, but they didn't want to lose them for two years," Boston said.\nGM students will be exempted from a one-week program at IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis, required of regular students enrolled in the program.\nThe GM double-degree program will start in January. Registration begins in the fall.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
The parents of Seth Korona, who died after a fraternity accident, will file a lawsuit for the wrongful death of their son, family lawyer Richard Hailey said Wednesday.\nHailey said Korona was hazed and encouraged to drink at Theta Chi fraternity and that the University was lenient in punishing alcohol violations.\nIn a tort claims notice, obtained Wednesday from the University, Hailey names IU President Myles Brand, former Theta Chi President David Friedmann, Theta Chi fraternity, Bloomington Hospital and the Attorney General of Indiana.\nHailey said Wednesday he will add the Indiana State Police to the list. An off-duty Indiana State Police officer guarded the door to the Theta Chi fraternity house.\nThe claims notice is only the first step to suing for Korona's wrongful death, but Hailey called a lawsuit "inevitable" Wednesday.\nKorona, 19, died Feb. 4 of bleeding in the brain caused by a skull fracture he sustained at a Jan. 27 Theta Chi party. Korona was hospitalized two days later and remained in a coma until his death. Prosecutor Carl Salzmann decided not to file charges.\nPolice said Korona hit his head on a metal door frame after doing a keg stand at the party.\nHailey said his own investigator revealed that keg stands are part of a "Theta Chi ritual" that was done with potential pledges. He said top officers and members of the fraternity observed and encouraged Korona's keg stand, and that more than a dozen members witnessed it.\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said he has not heard any mention of hazing at Theta Chi that night. He also said the record indicates that IU has not ignored alcohol problems on campus.\nHank Nuwer, an adjunct professor of journalism at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis and an expert on hazing and binge drinking on campus, said lawsuits such as Korona's that name three parties are very rare.\n"I can't think of another one, and I have a pretty good memory," said Nuwer, who wrote Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking.\nNuwer said the Koronas would have to prove negligence -- not an easy standard to meet. \nAn eyewitness testifying there was some pressure on Korona is almost essential, since the other side will say it was Korona's own decision, Nuwer said. He called it "a tough, tough case to win."\nWhile Hailey said Korona was partially responsible for his death, other "adults" and "adult institutions" have just as much responsibility.\n"Unfortunately, three separate entities came together in a tragic triad that led to the death of Seth Korona," Hailey said. "It would be a comedy of errors if it wasn't such a tragedy."\nHe said the hospital "botched" Korona's treatment, IU was lenient on Theta Chi and that the fraternity was a "free-flowing river of alcohol." The fraternity served Everclear "rush punch" and had several kegs at the party.\nState law limits damages that could be imposed on Bloomington Hospital at $1.25 million and caps the University's liability at $300,000, according to Hailey. There is no cap on Theta Chi's liability.\nIU Counsel Dorothy Frapwell said Wednesday she hadn't decided yet how to respond to the tort claims notice. Frapwell could not say when she would comment.\nIn a statement through Bloomington Hospital administrative assistant Kay Keck, Nancy Carlstedt, president and CEO of the hospital, said the hospital would have no comment.\nIU Spokeswoman Susan Dillman said IU President Myles Brand was aware he was named but had no comment.\nAttempts to reach David Friedmann, who withdrew from school after the incident, and Dave Westol, executive director of Theta Chi fraternity, were not successful Wednesday.\nRather than a lawsuit, Hailey said the best case scenario would be a private conversation with those involved. But he said he's not holding his breath.\nHailey said his real job for the family was looking for information.\n"This family has never mentioned anything about money to me," Hailey said. "What they want (to do) is find out what happened to their son."\nNuwer said such sentiments are not uncommon.\n"Facts are important, because headlines leave pain with the parents," Nuwer said. "They're looking for facts that will make the pain a little less."\nNuwer said a civil case can do just that -- by revealing facts.\n"Past cases in civil suits have brought out important information," Nuwer said.\nBut when criminal charges are filed, information comes much easier, he said.\nAfter Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity member Joseph Bisanz, 19, died in 1998, his parents considered legal action against the University and fraternity. Nuwer said the lack of criminal charges and other obstacles prevented the family from suing.\nStill, Hailey vows to move forward. He said he will get the police report "one way or another," making a formal request for the report next week.\nFrapwell said the University will consider whether to release the report when it receives the request. \nIn addition to using the report, Nuwer said he expects Korona's lawyers to bring in past cases, possibly including a settlement at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.\nIn addressing a drastic case of hazing, in which a pledge was handcuffed to a radiator and forced to drink 15 shots, the Nebraska Supreme Court found that the University should have protected the student from hazing, The Associated Press reported. The case drew a $25,000 settlement.\nBut at least one case Hailey said he will use hits a little closer to home. Decided in July 1999 by the Indiana Supreme Court, the case also involved an IU fraternity. In Delta Tau Delta v. Tracey D. Johnson, the court held the fraternity responsible for a rape that occurred in its house.\nGeorge Patton, an attorney for Bose McKinney & Evans based in Washington, D.C., successfully argued the case for Johnson.\nPatton said the key issue in his case -- whether prior acts on a property give the landowner notice that there is danger to those entering their property -- might also be applied in the Korona case.\nThe court ruled that the fraternity could be held liable since they ignored warning signs and repeated conduct problems, Patton said.\nIn recent years, Theta Chi has been on and off probation from their national organization.\nIn 1998, the fraternity was put on probation after police found 175 cases of beer and 31.7 liters of vodka while responding to an alcohol-related injury. The fraternity was also cited for unspecified risk-management violations in January 2000.\nNuwer said the violations were a huge disappointment for Theta Chi executive director Dave Westol, who thought his undergrads were committed to change.\n"You start wondering if a real gap is occurring between the national headquarters and the deans, and the chapters," Nuwer said.\nWestol did not return phone calls by press time.\nPatton said he didn't know enough about the Korona case to know if liability could "flow to the University."\n"There are laws out there that provide immunity for the University," Patton said.\nHailey said another important aspect for the Koronas is "fair allocation of responsibility and accountability." But he said he doesn't think any of the three parties named will acknowledge any responsibility.\n"We do see (the University) as having some responsibility for social institutions on campus and believe they have authority over various aspects of those institutions," Hailey said.\nHe said universities 30 years ago were held more responsible -- in loco parentís, or in place of the parent. Today, he said, universities have moved closer to caveat emptor -- let the buyer beware.\n"We think that somewhere in the middle is better," Hailey said.\nThe University has 90 days to respond to the tort claims notice. Other parties named in the notice are not asked to respond. No response would be tantamount to a denial of the allegation, IU Counsel Dorothy Frapwell said. Hailey said he expects no response but plans to begin legal proceedings in fewer than 90 days.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
IU Vice President Christopher Simpson, the University's voice during the controversy surrounding Bob Knight's firing, said Wednesday he will resign his post in July to pursue a new challenge -- his own marketing and public relations firm.\n"I've been in the public sector for 25 years," Simpson said. "I'm interested in going into the private sector and going into business for myself."\nSpecial Assistant to the President Bill Stephan will serve as interim vice president for public affairs and government relations, a position that reports directly to the president.\n"I feel very privileged to serve the University in this capacity," Stephan said. "My plans are to try to continue those qualities of IU that distinguish us from institutions around the world."\nStephan worked as chief of staff for former Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith before coming to IU last year to head up economic development efforts. He said he will seek the permanent position.\nAt IU, Simpson is best known for his campaign to actively market the University and to refine its image, shifting away from a news-promotion strategy. Simpson credited his staff for the success of IU's Office of Communications and Marketing, which has become a national model.\nBut Simpson's methods have also been fodder for his critics -- including Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Vic Viola.\n"I'm pleased to see he's leaving. I considered it good news," Viola said. "I feel that his attempts to spin every piece of news out of the University to an excess has not been beneficial."\nViola said overemphasis on "image" is disheartening to the faculty.\nStephan said he doesn't envision any changes if he's appointed to the position permanently but said some refinement of responsibilities would be possible.\nSimpson said he and his wife have the infrastructure in place for Simpson Communications, LLC, a marketing and public relations firm that will be based in Bloomington and will open a Washington, D.C., office this summer. He said the company will focus on higher education marketing but will also offer services to government and private entities.\nSimpson said he plans to capitalize on the demand for marketing in higher education, a field "on the verge of exploding."\nTo go into business, Simpson gives up the $165,400 he made this year at IU.\nIn his new firm, Simpson plans to draw from his experience in the national media, as press secretary for U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC), as an expert in integrated marketing communication and as a crisis communicator -- experience he refined during the Knight controversy.\nSimpson discussed Knight's firing as keynote speaker at a meeting of the Hoosier Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America in January.\nHaving made the decision to leave in the fall, Simpson said he told IU President Myles Brand in December.\nBrand said Simpson has been an outstanding asset to IU.\n"Vice President Simpson has given the University extremely capable service in good times and difficult ones," Brand said in a statement.\nSimpson said he was considering the move before the Knight controversy erupted but put it on the back burner.\nHe said the Knight controversy was the most difficult part of his experience at IU.\n"I've been through public things more difficult," he said. "(But) at the lowest times during that controversy, I could have never gotten through it without a tremendously supportive wife and family."\nSimpson said he will continue to live in Bloomington and hopes to continue to be a member of the IU family. He said he wants his kids to go to IU.\nBoth Simpson and Brand came to IU from the University of Oregon in 1994.\nSince his new firm will be in its first year, Simpson said it would be too early to recruit from his IU staff but that he will consider it down the road.\n"I think I have the absolute best staff in the world, and if I ever get the chance to work with them in a different environment I would jump at it," Simpson said.\n"I came here with President Brand," he said. "Taking talent with you is something he taught me"
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IU's board of trustees approved a 7.5 percent tuition hike Tuesday, the University's largest in six years. In-state students will see their tuition rise $320 next year while out-of-state tuition and fees will go up by about $1,000. \nAfter three hours of debate and following an alternate proposal put forward by Trustee Steven Ferguson that would have saved in-state students about $40, the trustees approved the University's proposed fee rates and operating expenses by a vote of 7-0-2.\nThe 7.5 percent hike will apply to the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses. Regional campuses will see a hike of 6.5 percent.\nTrustee Stephen Backer said the increase will help IU-Bloomington retain top faculty and continue as a world-class research institution.\n"From the Bloomington standpoint, this tuition increase helps us considerably to maintain the stature of the institution," Backer said.\nTwo trustees -- Ferguson and Peter Obremsky -- abstained from the vote, saying the 7.5 percent hike was excessive.\n"I fundamentally believe we could get by with a 6.5 percent increase," Obremsky said. "I think the University should do the same belt tightening the state had to do."\nIU President Myles Brand said the University has cut costs and that the hike was worth it to preserve the reputation and excellence of the institution.\n"The percentages may sound high," Brand said. "The dollar amounts are not."\nSeveral trustees expressed concern that the tuition hike will expecially hurt enrollment of out-of-state students, who pay about three times the in-state rate. Brand echoed those concerns: "We may not be over the edge, but we're pushing it," he said.\nBrand said he hopes financial aid incentives and the University itself continue to attract out-of-state students. According to Brand, students with family income less than $40,000 would be shielded from the tuition hike by new financial aid incentives.\nOf the tuition increase, 4.5 percent will fund a variety of maintenance costs, while 3 percent will fund academic and faculty retention initiatives.\nAt Bloomington, faculty will get an average raise of 3 to 4 percent, with an additional 2 percent allocated for selected faculty and assistant professors. A $650,000 fund Chief Financial Officer Judy\nPalmer called "a departure from the usual salary policy" will allow the campus to give additional raises to the highest performing faculty.\nBesides tuition, the fee increase for Bloomington includes a $6 increase in the transportation and health center fees, and a $5 increase in the student activity fee. In-state tuition will now be $4,195, and out-of-state tuition will be $13,930.\nBrand said it was no coincidence that IU approved a 7.5 percent tuition hike, after Purdue approved the same percentage hike in May. He said the universities share some of the same challenges.
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The IU board of trustees approved the University's largest tuition hike in seven years Tuesday. In-state students will see their tuition rise about $340 next year, while out-of-state tuition and fees will go up by about $1,000.\nThe additional dollars will primarily fund faculty and staff pay raises and initiatives designed to retain students through graduation. The hike is a response in part to lower-than-usual funding from the state.\nTrustee Stephen Backer said the increase will help IU-Bloomington keep its top faculty and continue as a world-class research institution.\n"From the Bloomington standpoint, this tuition increase helps us considerably to maintain the stature of the institution," Backer said.\nAfter three hours of debate and following an alternate proposal put forward by Trustee Steven Ferguson that would have saved in-state students about $44 per year, the trustees approved the University's proposed fee rates and operating expenses by a vote of 7-0.\nTwo trustees -- Ferguson and Pete Obremsky -- abstained from the vote, saying the 7.5 percent hike was excessive.\n"I fundamentally believe we could get by with a 6.5 percent increase," Obremsky said. "I think the University should do the same belt tightening the state had to do."\nCommissioner for Higher Education Stan Jones said he was similarly disappointed with the tuition hike.\nJones said the tuition hike was "much higher than needed."\n"I think 5 percent would have been appropriate," he said. "(IU) could have had a solid increase in faculty salaries that would have allowed them to be competitive."\nIU President Myles Brand said the University has tightened its belt, citing lower administration pay raises of 2-3 percent. Brand said the hike was worth preserving IU's reputation.\n"The percentages may sound high," Brand said. "The dollar amounts are not."\n"It's dinner out and a pizza (for an in-state student) -- about $30 a month," he said.\nBut junior Elly Romer, an out-of-state student in the work-study program, said it's a meal some students won't be eating.\n"(That's) still an awful lot," Romer said. "Especially for those who are paying their way through college."\nDuring the school year, Romer said she gets by with multiple loans and work-study, but during the summer she struggles to pay out-of-state credit-hour fees.\nRomer said she's afraid the tuition hike could make it nearly impossible for her to graduate on time.\nWhile it seems most students are supportive of raises for faculty and retention of students, they're frustrated by the fee hike.\n"Every time I turn around, on my bursar bill they have a new category or fee," said senior Shotunus Peterson, who has lived in the residence halls for three years. "It's ridiculous!"\nIU Student Association President Jake Oakman, a senior, said he has already spoken to a number of upset students.\nOakman said the tuition increase will pose new challenges to students, but he said he doesn't expect students will leave because of it.\n"Short term, students and families might look at it as a negative mark," Oakman said. "But long term, once we're able to retain more professors, services and build the buildings, this kind of increase will level off."\nSeveral trustees expressed the same concern that the tuition hike could hurt enrollment, especially for out-of-state students, who pay about three times the in-state rate. Brand echoed those concerns: "We may not be over the edge, but we're pushing it," he said.\nBut Brand said financial aid incentives and the University itself should continue to attract out-of-state students.\nHe said students with family incomes of less than $40,000 would be shielded from the tuition hike by new financial aid incentives.\nIU financial aid will increase by 8 percent, or about $3.6 million, according to an IU press release.\nFreshman Sean Yang said he hopes the University includes international students in its plans for new incentives.\n"IU is reasonable compared to other Big Ten universities, but (the tuition hike) is not good news," Yang said.\nYang's parents pay his tuition, but the financial situation in his home of Korea is not good, he said, and another thousand dollars will be a burden on his family.\nIn Indiana, middle-class families will be hurt most by the tuition hike, said Jones.\n"If this was a one-time occurrence, it might be acceptable, but if it continues it will hurt middle-class students," he said. "Most of the financial aid programs are available only for low-income students."\nOf the tuition increase, 3 percent will fund academic initiatives and faculty raises, while 4.5 percent will fund a variety of maintenance costs, including replacing part-time faculty with full-time lecturers and implementing new student retention initiatives.\nOakman acknowledged the paradox of such initiatives.\n"It's ironic that they want to increase tuition to keep students here," he said. "But looking at it from my perspective, the administration has the students' best interests in mind."\nOn the Bloomington campus, faculty will get an average raise of 3 to 4 percent, with an additional 2 percent allocated for selected faculty and assistant professors. A $650,000 fund, Chief Financial Officer Judy Palmer called "a departure from the usual salary policy," will allow the campus to give additional raises to the highest performing faculty.\nWith all instructional fees and general fees, in-state tuition will now be $4,734 and out-of-state tuition will be $14,468 per year.\nThe 7.5 percent hike applies to the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses. Regional campuses will see a hike of 6.5 percent.\nBrand said it was no coincidence that IU approved a 7.5 percent tuition hike weeks after Purdue approved the same percentage. He said the universities share some of the same challenges.\nJones, though, sees it differently: "I think they thought if Purdue did it, they could get away with it," he said.
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IU will not respond to two tort claims notices it received in recent months -- one for wrongful death and one for wrongful termination, an IU official said Wednesday.\nThe family of Seth Korona, who died in a fraternity accident, notified the University in late April of their plans to sue. The lawyer for former basketball coach Bob Knight sent notification in March.\nIU Counsel Dorothy Frapwell said the University does not generally respond to tort claims notices, the legal notification of intent to sue that allows 90 days for a response, and won't respond in either of the most recent cases. Lack of a response is construed as denial of the claim, she said.\nFrapwell said the University would respond to a tort claims notice only in a case of "clear liability."\nKnight's notice -- which mentions slander, libel, defamation and tortious interference with potential contracts -- cites damages in excess of $7 million.\nKnight was fired by IU President Myles Brand Sept. 10 for violations of a "zero-tolerance" policy imposed by the University.\nThe 90-day deadline has passed in that case.\nKnight lawyer Russell Yates told the IDS in March that the IU coach of 29 years would prefer an out-of-court settlement but had no choice but to file the notice, giving him two years to file a lawsuit.\nFrapwell said it would be "inappropriate to discuss" whether there were negotiations toward a settlement.\nYates did not return phone calls before the IDS' final deadline Wednesday.\nIn the Korona case, the 90-day deadline has yet to pass.\nKorona lawyer Richard Hailey sent a tort claims notice to the state, University, Theta Chi Fraternity and Bloomington Hospital on behalf of the family. The notice says the family will seek in excess of $1 million.\nKorona, 19, died Feb. 4 of bleeding in the brain caused by a skull fracture he sustained at a Jan. 27 Theta Chi party. Korona was hospitalized two days later and remained in a coma until his death.\nHailey told the IDS in March that Korona was hazed and encouraged to drink at Theta Chi and that the University was lenient in punishing alcohol violations.\nHe called a lawsuit "inevitable." Hailey said he is not surprised the University does not plan to respond, but that now, at least, he won't have to wait to take action.\n"I expect to be completely ignored at every juncture," Hailey said. "But there's going to come a time when they can't ignore it."Hailey said he plans to take one of two actions in the next few weeks: file legal action to obtain the police report, or file a full-blown lawsuit.\nLast week, Hailey formally requested case-related documents and investigatory records from the University, IU Police Department, Theta Chi and the Bloomington Police Department. \nSo far, he said, he has received no response. Hailey said it would be disappointing if all of the information is not turned over.\n"I think the family would be hurt and confused that anyone ... would have information about the death of their child and not share it with them," Hailey said.\nFrapwell said she has received the request and is reviewing it.
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A year after Bank One ATMs were kicked off campus by the University, four of the company's cash machines could return in the coming months -- at least one is expected to be in place in the fall.\nRepresentatives from Bank One, the University and the IU Student Association worked out some of the remaining issues during a conference call Friday. Student groups will draw up a "needs" proposal that addresses possible locations. The proposal will go to the University, then Bank One, and if terms are reached, ATMs will be installed in about 60 days, at a cost to Bank One of about $30,000 apiece.\nLocations that have been discussed include the Main Library, McNutt Quad, Ballantine Hall and the Indiana Memorial Union.\nIUSA Vice President for Administration Jeff Wuslich said he was optimistic that an agreement to bring back ATMs would be reached and said it would bring advantages to students.\n"It will make one more bank more accessible to students," Wuslich said. "It will also make things a little safer (since) students won't have to walk as far."\nBill Weinman, the Bank One executive responsible for ATMs in Bloomington, said the bank wants to provide the service to its student customers and hopes the process speeds up so students can make banking arrangements before they come to campus.\n"It only makes sense to make the kind of investment to come back on campus," he said.\nDuring IUSA elections in January, one of the questions raised by the victorious Supernova ticket was why Bank One ATMs were removed from campus. Jolene Carper, a co-director of services for IUSA, was put in charge of answering the question and researching the possibility of bringing back the ATMs.\n"Bank One wants to do what students want and are willing to do what's best for us," Carper said. "The wall we seem to be hitting is with the administration."\nIU kicked Bank One and its eight ATMs off campus late last summer, after the company did not make the University an acceptable fee-sharing offer.\nBut Weinman said the bank has never paid a fee for its IU ATMs, and for good reason: it never made a profit on them. The University asked for a profit-sharing proposal when there was none, he said, so he told them such an arrangement was not possible.\n"That wasn't exactly the answer they wanted," Weinman said. "I never heard back from them."\nIU asked Bank One to remove its ATMs by late July of last year and set in motion a plan to purchase its own cash machines.\n"There was no incentive for the institution to allow (Bank One) to stay," Patrick Smith, assistant director of purchasing, told the IDS last year. "We can't let them stay and not allow that for other banks."\nThe University put eight new ATMs on campus, charging 75 cents per transaction. With bank and University fees, transaction costs now average $2 to $3.\nIn negotiating with the University to bring back a limited number of ATMs, Weinman said he considers the University just another landlord.\n"I'm hoping they don't want to charge too much that I have to go before my boss and get my head chopped off," he said.\nWeinman added that he didn't appreciate the "misinformation" given by the University in explaining the removal of the ATMs last year.\nHe said the University made it look like the bank had left customers "high and dry," when in reality the bank was more than willing to accept a modest loss in exchange for student customers.\nAt the time, the University contended it would be unfair to let Bank One operate fee-free and not allow other banks the same opportunity.\nTo have ATMs in place by the fall, Weinman said he needs commitment now. He plans to meet with representatives of the Indiana Memorial Union today.\n"This is not rocket science," Weinam said. "It's simple business negotiation."\nQuestions or input concerning ATMs on campus can be directed to IUSA Services, iusas@indiana.edu.
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Considered one of the top graduate programs in the country and well-known for its research, IU's department of sociology will be recognized in August for another strength -- its training of teachers.\nThe American Sociological Association will be present the department with the Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award at its annual national meeting.\nThe award is an honor usually reserved for individuals.\n"It's a rarity for a department to receive this award," Robert V. Robinson, chair of the sociology department, said in a statement. "I'm hoping that we'll serve as a model for other leading research departments in showing that it's important to train students, not just as scholars or researchers, but also as effective classroom teachers."\nEarlier this year, IU's sociology department was ranked 11th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.\nBut the department's most recent recognition stems from the its training of graduate students to become teachers. The special teaching program has yielded more IU teaching awards than any other department and landed graduates in prestigious teaching positions at institutions across the country.\nThe architects of the teacher-training program are professors Bernice Pescosolido, Brian Powell and Kent Redding.\nPowell, co-director of the Preparing Future Faculty program, said IU's is the only sociology research department that's ever been acknowledged for its teaching. He said it's because IU provides equally for teaching and researching training.\n"We believe we have a moral obligation to make sure our teaching and training for teaching is comparable to our teaching and training for research," Powell said. "It's highly unusual for a research department ... to really be concerned about teaching."\nThe teacher training program includes student workshops during the summer, individual work with students, special courses on "surviving and thriving teaching," projects and experiences at other campuses. At IU, graduate students don't teach until their third year, Powell said.\nIU grads are teaching all over the country, including at the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, Vanderbilt University, Emory University, New York University, University of Wisconsin and numerous smaller liberal arts colleges.\nThe recognition will complement another award the IU Department of Sociology will receive in August -- one for research; a grad student will be honored for best dissertation, Powell said.\nIU Spokeswoman Susan Dillman said the University is proud of the recognition.\n"Clearly, this is one more recognition of IU's quality and national reputation," she said.
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An IU football player has been charged with raping a 21-year old female he met at a Bloomington sports bar early Sunday.\nA plea of not guilty was entered for Clarence Young, 20, at his initial hearing Tuesday. Young faces a charge of class B felony rape, punishable by up to 20 years in jail.\nAccording to a jail spokesman, Young was released Monday evening for $500 cash bail on a $20,000 assurity bond.\nYoung's initial hearing has been set for August, said Monroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzmann.\nThe victim was at a bar with friends when she met Young, but she doesn't remember how she ended up at Young's apartment complex, according to police reports.\n"She remembers being dragged up the sidewalk at Jackson Heights," Salzmann said.\nAt the 17th Street apartment complex, Young allegedly took the victim into his apartment and sexually assaulted her in a bedroom, Salzmann said.\nAfter the incident, the victim called her sister, who called police.\nOfficers met the victim at Bloomington Hospital, where she was examined, Salzmann said. Young was arrested without incident Sunday afternoon.\nYoung will likely be suspended from the football team, whose season begins in September. He is a reserve defensive back.\nAccording to a portion of the athletic code of conduct, "... if the prosecuting attorney finds probable cause to file formal charges ... the student-athlete will initially be suspended from competition pending the resolution of the case."\nIU Athletics spokesman Jeff Fanter would only say that the athletics department would follow the athletic code of conduct in Young's case, as it does in all cases.\n"We're aware of the situation, but cannot comment, in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act," Fanter said.\nOriginally from Detroit, Young has been at IU for two years. \nLast year, nine forcible rapes were reported on the IU campus, according to IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger.\nIn all nine cases, the assailant was known by the victim, Minger said.\nSix rapes were reported to IUPD in 1999, and five were reported in 1998.\nMinger said the number of reported rapes has fluctuated from 3 to 10 throughout the years, but added that only 12 to 25 percent of rapes are reported nationally.
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Students will have one more option for campus transportation when fall classes start later this month, as IU enters the second year of a three-year phase-in universal bus plan.\nAccess to a stadium-to-campus shuttle will be added to services already available: Bloomington Transit and a late-night shuttle service. All will be available with a student ID and are funded by a $27.66 per semester transportation fee.\nFull implementation of universal service could cost students twice that per semester, officials say.\nLast year students were charged about $21 per semester for the first phase of universal service, which provided access to Bloomington Transit.\nJim Hosler, director of the campus bus service, said the price increase covers inflation, salary and fuel increases and the costs of free access, which include lower collected fares and fewer bus passes purchased.\nNo additional routes will be added, but more buses will run the stadium-to-campus express route -- five as opposed to last year's three, Hosler said. Buses should come by every five minutes.\nTransportation committee members had considered three options for the upcoming year -- leave the service the same, add a stadium-to-campus route or fully implement universal access.\nThe universal campus bus service was initially proposed by the IU Student Association.\nBloomington Transit General Manager Lew May joined others in praising the universal bus system as a way to increase students' mobility and provide a solution to a lack of parking on campus.\n"Its a great way to leave your car behind, to avoid the parking hassles and maybe save the price of a parking sticker," May said.\nThe $27.66 transportation fee will generate about $1.9 million this year.\nHosler said every dollar goes toward bus operations: about $570,000 to Bloomington Transit, $72,000 for a late-night shuttle service and the rest goes toward the campus bus service, of which the transportation fee funds about half.\nThe campus service's total budget is about $3.3 million.\nFormer IU Student Association President Meredith Suffron told the IDS last April that the full universal plan would have cost each student about $40 per semester -- if all Bloomington and IU services remained the same.\nBut if the University wants to keep the existing level of service or add service, it might have to double the existing fee or charge more, Hosler said.\nHosler said the original $35 fee proposed by IUSA was low to start with.\nWhile ridership on the campus bus service went down last year, Bloomington Transit saw record ridership, May said. BT added eight buses last year to a fleet of 33.\nThe campus service has to rely more heavily on the transportation fee, since funds from bus pass sales were down 28 percent last year, and fares decreased 40 percent, Hosler said. Among other factors, he said, giving a discount of the amount of the transportation fee to students who purchase bus passes caused the drops.\nLynn Coyne, assistant vice president for real estate and economic development, said the University will hire a consultant to do an operations analysis this year to determine the best way to implement universal service.\n"The next step will be to initiate a route-study to analyze campus bus routes (and) Bloomington Transit routes to realize a higher level of efficiency and hopefully reduce costs," he said.
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IU Student Association officials are optimistic about Bank One ATMs returning to campus, although the process has taken longer than originally expected.\nLocations that have been discussed include the Main Library, Business School, Ballantine Hall and the Indiana Memorial Union.\nThe ATM would likely be placed at the IMU first, officials have said.\nIUSA will hold a town hall meeting to address ATMs from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 6 at the IMU State Room West.\nThe goal of the meeting is "to get a general feel of where students want the ATMs and if they really want the ATMs," said Jolene Carper, a co-director of services for IUSA.\n"We've been waiting for all the students to get back," she said. "We wanted the whole student body to be involved."\n IUSA will put together a "needs" proposal that addresses possible locations to submit to the University almost immediately after the town hall meeting, Carper said.\n After the University looks at it, the proposal will go to Bank One, and if terms are reached, the ATMs will be installed.\n IU kicked Bank One and its eight ATMs off campus late last summer, after the company did not make the University an acceptable fee-sharing offer.\n But Bill Weinman, the Bank One executive responsible for ATMs in Bloomington, told the IDS this summer the bank has never paid a fee for its IU ATMs, and for good reason: it never made a profit on them.\nRepresentatives from Bank One, the University and the IU Student Association worked out a few of the remaining issues of bringing back the ATMs during a conference call in June.\nA Bank One ATM for the IMU is being negotiated separately from the others.\nThe price for the ATM has been agreed upon, but the University's real estate office is working on contract language, said Roy Lovell, the IMU's assistant director for administrative services.\n"We're ready to go when we get a contract done," Lovell said. "... We're not talking anything complicated."\nThe IUSA executive ticket Supernova brought up the ATM issue during IUSA elections in January.\nAt the time, Carper was put in charge of researching the possibility of bringing back Bank One ATMs.\nIUSA went to IU's treasurer's office, where they worked with Dennis Reedy, among others.\n"IUSA came to us and asked us to help them get ATMs back on campus," Reedy, managing director, investments and cash management, said. "We got in touch with the bank and ... brought everybody together and tried to get them talking."\nIUSA Vice President for Administration Jeff Wuslich said he was optimistic that an agreement to bring back ATMs would be reached and said it would bring advantages to students.\n"It will make one more bank more accessible to students," Wuslich told the IDS in June. "It will also make things a little safer (since) students won't have to walk as far."\nThe bank is eager to return to campus, said Bank One Spokeswoman Nancy Norris. She called it a "priority."\n"We're waiting to hear back from the student government and administration," Norris said. "Once we get that, and our offer is accepted, we'll move forward as soon as we can"
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IU launched three new computer technology labs Tuesday, funded by a $30 million grant from the Lilly Endowment.\nThree more labs funded by the grant, which was announced in 1999, will be opened in the near future at IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis.\nThe Pervasive Technology Labs at IU will bring together high-speed computers and "smart" devices ranging from scientific instruments to home appliances.\nUsers will be able to access the technology with a personal computer, telephone or other device.\nSome of the possibilities that could result from the technology include a microchip in a refrigerator that could order food online when supplies are running low and a biosensor that could explore the body after being swallowed in a tablet.\nWhile IU will not develop the products themselves, it will develop and patent promising generic technologies that could lead to such products, said Michael McRobbie, vice president for information technology.\nIn addition to technological benefits, officials touted the labs as a boost to state and local economies and to IU's academic reputation and ability to attract top faculty and students.\n"You can't build Silicon Valley overnight," McRobbie said. "This is a start."\nAmong the officials at a ceremony to unveil the labs Tuesday at Bloomington City Hall were Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan, Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez and IU President Myles Brand.\nBrand said the labs would explore promising new technology and would benefit the state and University in the long run.\n"This is the future. This is where IU, Bloomington, Indiana must go," Brand said. \nBrand called the move in Indiana from a manufacturing economy to an information-based economy a "painful transition," citing the potential loss of 460 jobs at Otis Elevator.\nBut he said the transition will provide more jobs and better jobs. It will also bring to Indiana new businesses and new opportunities for partnerships, Brand said.\n"The 21st Century is a time of the mind, not the back," he said.\nTwo of the labs are located in the Showers complex -- an old furniture factory.\nScott Jones, chairman of the Indiana Technology Partnership, said Indiana wants to be a "recognized technology leader" in the Midwest by 2005.\nTo get there, he said, the state must rise in a number of categories: Indiana's technology status will be measured by education, research dollars, venture capital, patents, the percentage of scientists and engineers and the number of technology based jobs, he said.\nOfficials said the new IU labs will address all of these categories.\nAnother feature of the Lilly grant is $2 million that has been set aside for seed capital to fund spin-off companies.\nMcRobbie called it a "pre-venture fund."\nWhen innovations start to emerge from a lab, the fund could make a six-month investment in a team to develop a prototype of the technology, McRobbie said.\nThe three labs that opened Tuesday are the Advanced Network Management Lab, the Community Grids Lab and the Open Systems Lab.\nResearchers from the Advanced Network Management Lab provided solutions and advice to the University when when a security hole was left open on a Bursar's office computer last year. The hole allowed information about several students to be downloaded to a computer overseas.\nThe lab will develop technologies to help manage the convergence of data, voice and video and over the Internet.\nThat will start by scrutinizing current network systems for faults, researcher Ed Balas said.\n"Any switched Ethernet can be monitored by anyone else in the network," Balas said, as he demonstrated the phenomena on two different computers.\n"When the Internet exploded, the ability to manage it did not," Balas said.\nThe Community Grid Lab will focus on grid computing, peer-to-peer computing and parallel computing.\nIn a demonstration Tuesday, the lab demonstrated the possibilities of multimedia education.\n"We're trying to make education a service you plug into," said Geoffrey Fox, director of the lab. "You enroll at your favorite university. The actual lecture delivery and grading can be delivered from the best, anywhere."\nAudio and video feeds, messaging and digital assistance are some of the multimedia education possibilities being looked at by researchers.\nThe Open Systems Lab will look at ways to develop universally accessible, or "open," software that will be available free to the public.\n"We make software that just works," said researcher Jeff Squyres. "Honestly, software that sucks less."\nWhen the labs' Lilly grant funding runs out after five years, officials say more grants will be sought.
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IU has closed half of its residence hall libraries because of high costs and low student usage.\nSix of the 12 halls of residence libraries that remain are now called Library Community Resource Centers, while in the six halls where libraries closed, the Residence Halls Association opened new shops where students can borrow movies and music.\nFor nearly 40 years, Residential Programs and Services and the IU Libraries jointly operated 12 residence hall libraries. Two years ago, library officials told RPS that it would back out of the agreement and no longer manage the facilities.\nMany of the residence halls were interested in keeping their library, said Pat Steele, IU Libraries customer services coordinator. But the residence hall libraries no longer coincided with the library's long-term plans -- financially or academically.\n"A great deal (of the decision) was based on the number of things students were using the library for," Steele said. "The more scholarly aspect of the library was not reflected as much."\nIn February 1999, the dean of libraries asked staff members to meet with RPS to discuss how to serve students without library funds, Steele said.\nIU Libraries withdrew its $122,555 portion of the residence hall libraries' operation costs last year.\nThe total cost of running 12 residence hall libraries last year was $407,898, according to budget projection figures provided by Nancy Lorenz, RPS director of academic initiatives.\nIn addition to library funds, last year RPS contributed a total of $128,225; $35,118 came from student activity fees, student fines added $110,000 and $12,000 came from vending machine profits.\nNot wanting to pick up the full cost of the libraries this year, RPS decided to continue the "neighborhood" trend that affects the dining halls.\nLibrary Community Resources Centers will be available at Foster Quad, Teter Quad, Campus View Apartments, Collins Center, Eigenmann Hall and Willkie Quad.\nIU is one of seven schools in the U.S. that has libraries in residence halls, Lorenz said, so keeping them in the residence halls was a top priority.\n"This is a legacy we have from (the late University) Chancellor (Herman B) Wells," Lorenz said. "He said it is important to have this type of environment in our residence halls."\nWhile students will no longer be able to borrow books in six residence halls, they will still be able to borrow movies and music -- the feature that drew about 80 percent of students who visited the libraries, Lorenz said.\nIn residence halls that lost their library, RPS and Residence Halls Association have opened Music, Movies and More shops, where students can borrow movies and CDs for free with a valid student ID.\nRPS will pick up the tab for the new shops, which will eventually add DVDs, snacks and phone cards.\nRPS has budgeted $290,041 for the libraries, including funds from vending machines, activity fees, overdue fines and the division's budget, Lorenz said.\nOverhead for the libraries and shops is expected to reach $214,120; the difference will cover new CDs, DVDs and computers, Lorenz said. RPS will contribute the same amount it did to the libraries last year -- $128,225.\nLocations for the new shops, which will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight every day, are Briscoe Quad in the old 17th Street Cafe, McNutt Quad in the old center store, Ashton Center in the Ashton Club, McNutt Quad, Forest Quad and Read Center in old RHA center stores, and Wright Quad in the old Wright Library.\nRHA had planned to run the shops independently, said Jennie Woolf, Movies, Music and More director. The shops give RHA a fund-raising opportunity and a chance for student leaders to receive management experience.\nBut when RHA asked to take over movie and music rentals, RPS offered to help.\n"The big force behind it all is that we're trying to serve students in the best way possible," Lorenz said.\nLorenz said materials from the closed libraries will go to different locations, including the Main Library, other residence hall libraries and Academic Support Centers in Ashton, Briscoe and Forest. The rest will be sold.
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At least two F-16 fighters forced down a small passenger plane at the Monroe County Airport this afternoon.\nThe pilot was apparently confused and didn't know U.S. airspace remains closed to everything but commercial and military aircraft, an airport official told the IDS.\nOnce the plane landed, state and local police surrounded it as a precuation, the airport official said.\nFBI spokesman Doug Garrison said an agent from his office responded and determined that the plane and its pilot were not a threat.\nGreg Gaskill, air traffic manager at Terre Haute tower, confirmed that fighter jets from the 181st Air National Guard unit had been flying missions, including in the Bloomington area. Monroe County Airport officials also said the planes came from Terre Haute.\nMonroe County Airport is closed, except for special exceptions, said Bruce Payton, the airport's director.\n"There is no cause for any alarm," Payton said. "The necessary precautions all worked very well."\nThe planes flew over campus at about 1:30 p.m., creating a stir soon after the University observed a moment of silence for the victims of Tuesday's terrorist attack on New York and Washington, D.C.
