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(06/04/01 2:10am)
IU's board of trustees will likely approve the University's largest tuition increase in five years Tuesday. It could mean at least a $200 increase in tuition for in-state students and a $650 increase for out-of-state students.\nUniversity officials would not say how much of a tuition increase they will recommend to the board of trustees but admitted they have a target number.\nThe trustees will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis to discuss and approve tuition rates. The meeting is open to the public.\nEven before the state approved a modest increase in IU funding during a tough budget year, IU officials had conceded that a higher-than-usual tuition increase would be needed to support existing programs and improve faculty retention.\nBut officials have refused to float any numbers or say whether IU's tuition hike will match or exceed those at other Indiana universities.\nPurdue University approved a 7.5 percent tuition hike, and Ball State University has approved a 5.5 percent rise in tuition.\nTrustee Stephen Backer said he would be "very surprised" if IU's tuition hike exceeded the range of those schools' increases. He also said he expected tuition next year to increase more than it has each of the past five years, when it went up between 3.5 and 5 percent.\nThis year, tuition would have to rise by at least 3.4 percent to keep up with inflation, ignoring rising energy and health care costs, Trustee Ray Richardson said.\nIf the hike does fall within the range of 5 to 8 percent, it wouldn't be far outside IU's 20-year average yearly tuition increase of 6.6 percent. \nIU's highest-ever tuition increase was in 1982-83, when tuition rose 15 percent. Its lowest hike was 3.5 percent in 1999-00.\nTrustee Ray Richardson said the trustees have not yet received a precise figure from the administration but have looked at several tuition scenarios.\n"This year, for the first time in my experience, there have been a wide range of tuition figures the board is studying," Richardson said. "I couldn't guess within 2 percent where we're going to end up."\nBacker said he expects "wholesome discussion" and debate at Tuesday's meeting. He said the trustees want to make sure there is good reason to raise tuition.\n"If we do raise tuition, it will not be just to raise tuition," Backer said. "There will be a purpose and money will be earmarked for certain things not covered by the legislature."\nAmong the items not covered are increasing faculty salaries, attracting top-notch faculty and retaining students at regional campuses.\nBacker said it frustrates him when people get hung up on the percentage aspect of tuition increases.\n"Purdue raised tuition $250 -- that's not a whole lot of money in the scheme of things," Backer said. "Once you walk out the door (of college), in theory, you ought to be able to make up that amount a hundred fold."\nThe trustees will look at whether in-state and out-of-state tuition should rise by the same percentage.\nIn-state undergraduate students now pay $3,902.40 a year for tuition, while out-of-state students pay $12,958.10 a year.\nTrustees are also seriously considering a higher tuition increase for the Bloomington campus.\n"(IU) Bloomington is special," Backer said. "It is the crown jewel of the system, and it has needs some of the regional campuses don't have."\nIU Spokeswoman Susan Dillman said the University has taken several factors into consideration in trying to balance accessibility with quality.\n"The University is very aware when it sets tuition that students must pay it," Dillman said. "There is a lot of thought that goes into this."\nDuring the trustees meeting, IU President Myles Brand will outline his goals for the University, including the amount of tuition increase he deems necessary, Dillman said. The trustees will debate the issues, decide on a number and are expected to vote by noon Tuesday.
(05/31/01 2:16am)
In a 1988 protest at the University president's office, students demanded that black officers be hired for the IU Police Department. The department had none at the time.\nAlready a lieutenant for IU's Indianapolis campus police force, Paul Norris transferred to IU in 1989 and became IU Bloomington's only black officer.\nNorris said it was no big deal for him -- he had been the only one before.#\nThe protests were the largest at IU since anti-war protests in the 1970s, the IDS reported. And the request for black officers was only one of a list of the IU Black Student Union's 10 demands.\nNow Norris, 52, who has served as IU's police chief since 1993, is leaving to be police chief at the University of Virginia, where he'll command a larger force and get a $20,000 raise.\nEarning $75,452 this year, Norris said he is the lowest-paid police chief in the Big Ten. The University of Virginia offered $95,000 and other incentives.\nVirginia has about 18,000 students, while IU has 37,000, Norris said.\nBut IUPD has fewer officers than the University of Virginia's police department: IUPD has 47, while Virginia has 65, Norris said.\nNorris called the opening at the college founded by Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia, "a good opportunity." The campus is 110 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.\n"I had always promised my kids I would stay here until they graduated high school," Norris said.\nWhen they graduated a few years ago, he began looking for openings in other police forces.\nNorris plans to start at Virginia in August. He said he has no idea who will replace him at IU.\nIU officials were unavailable to say when the search for Norris' replacement would begin.\nNorris attended Bloomington High School and IU, and his family lives in Bloomington. He joined the IU Police Department in Indianapolis in 1970.\nGeorge Huntington, who was chief before Norris, said he left the department in good hands.\n"He served well while I was his immediate commander," Huntington said. "I found him pleasant to work with, and competent."\nDuring the years, Norris counts the department's emphasis on employee education as one of his greatest accomplishments. He said IU officers are allowed six free credit hours a semester by the University. Norris has encouraged, and in some cases required, his officers to further their education by taking advantage of free hours.\nNorris said another high point of his stint as chief has been working with the IUPD Academy, which has placed officers in numerous agencies, including the FBI.\n"They're snatched up," Norris said. "No one ever has trouble getting a job."\nNorris has also focused on recruiting minority officers -- six of IUPD's present officers are black. Norris also hired IUPD's first female supervisor.\nThe lack of minority officers when Norris transferred to Bloomington wasn't for a lack of trying, Huntington said. By the early '70s, he said the department was recruiting and hiring officers without racial considerations. But retention was a major problem.\nNorris said one of his greatest thrills at IU was working sporting events and enjoying IU basketball games from the sideline. When he was promoted, other officers wondered if he'd give up sideline duty, he said. But each time, he declined.
(05/24/01 1:45am)
Graduate student Dave Tanner said the fourth day of the School of Health Physical Education and Recreation's five-day walk of China's Great Wall was the most difficult.\nThe group's water was running low, and the day's hike lasted seven hours, Tanner said. The wall narrowed to 12-inches wide in spots. Looming on either side were 20-foot drops. The wind blew at about 30 miles per hour.\nThe previous night, the group had camped out on the Wall, in an old guard tower.\n"It was like magic," Tanner said of looking at the moon from the Great Wall.\nForty students, faculty and staff members with ties to HPER returned from an 11-day trip to China and a five-day, 50 mile hike of China's Great Wall last week. It was the first official international hike permitted in the closed sections by China's Great Wall Commission.\nThe walk celebrated 10 years of friendship and cooperation between HPER and the Beijing University of Physical Education, which was represented by about 20 walkers. The partnership has promoted cultural exchanges and healthy lifestyles.\nDespite the challenges of hiking along the wall and the training beforehand, participants said the trip was an amazing experience.\n"It was the trip of a lifetime," said Mary Stroh, HPER's head librarian.\nStroh said a highlight for her was walking along sections that had never been open to foreigners before. Most of the Wall in those parts was rubble, she said, but it was worth it. \nChinese-American culture nights filled with song, dance and food were another highlight for Stroh. As HPER's librarian, Stroh donated six boxes of books to the BUPE library, which in turn donated Chinese books to the HPER library.\nDay One of the trip started with IU's walkers featured in a front page story in the Beijing Morning Post newspaper. The group then went to an orientation about the Wall at Beijing University of Physical Education and attended a Friendship Luncheon. After that the walkers began their Great Wall Walk.\nIU's representatives donated playground equipment at sites along its hike in China.\nHeather Dale Barcelona, Bloomington resident and wife of a graduate student, said the walk was more strenuous than she had expected but called every day she spent on the Wall "magnificent."\nOne day during the walk, the group came across "tin men," made of Coke cans, lined up like "little soldiers." Barcelona said she was struck by the contrast between modern art and the old Wall.\nBarcelona said her favorite activity on the trip was Tai Chi lessons.\n"It looks very easy, but of course the people teaching us have done it since they were 6 years old," Barcelona said. "Once you start to do it you realize it takes a lot of balance, skill and patience."\nTanner said the trip shattered every preconception he had about China.\n"I thought 'this is a Communist country: It'll be drab and the people will be unhappy,'" Tanner said. "It's beautiful and the people are very happy."\nHe said everyone was touched emotionally by the warmth extended by the Chinese. By the end of the trip, Tanner said, people on both sides were crying.\nEric Myers, president of the HPER alumni board and executive director of the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation, said the trip was a way to experience another culture and gain a new appreciation for ours. He said China shares the same latitude, but is a vastly different world.\nMyers said vast similarities existed between people that live in very different countries.\n"I went into it thinking we would be celebrating the relationship between two universities and left with friendships I think will last a lifetime," Myers said.\nParticipants said they were looking forward to a return trip.
(05/14/01 2:43am)
The parents of a freshman who died after attending an IU fraternity party took the first step in suing for the wrongful death of their son in late April, University officials said.\nIn a tort claims letter dated April 17, the family names IU, Theta Chi fraternity and Bloomington Hospital, according to IU Spokeswoman Susan Dillman. It says that the family will seek more than $1 million in damages.\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 Jan. 29 and remained in a coma until his death. \nPolice said Korona hit his head on a metal door frame after doing a keg stand at the party. Prosecutor Carl Salzmann decided not to file charges.\nIU counsel Dorothy Frapwell confirmed that the University had received the notice but said she could not comment until she had a chance to review the document further. \n"We're investigating the claim," Frapwell said.\nKorona's family visited their son's grave Mother's Day and were unavailable for comment, family friend Debra Neilson said. The Koronas live in Marlton, New Jersey.\nThe family's lawyer, Richard Hailey, did not return phone calls Sunday.\nBloomington Hospital and Theta Chi fraternity officials could not be reached for comment Sunday.\nA tort is a civil claim in which the plaintiff seeks damages. In tort cases, the plaintiff must show that he or she received actual injury from a wrongful act, as defined by law. \nA tort must be filed within a certain time frame after an act occurred, and not all torts result in lawsuits.\nWhile the prosecutor declined to file charges relating to the fraternity party, the University charged about 25 students who attended the party with alcohol-related violations of the University's Code of Ethics.\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said of 25 students charged, 10 have completed their judicial proceedings -- of which one was put on probation, six were reprimanded and four had no action taken against them. The first 10 faced charges relating to illegal alcohol consumption, McKaig said.\nOf the remainder of the students, including some who are facing more serious charges, many sought legal counsel or requested that the process resume at the start of fall semester, McKaig said.\nThe University has been put on notice for a drinking death before.\nPi Kappa Alpha fraternity member Joseph Bisanz, 19, died in 1998.
(05/14/01 2:01am)
Forty students, faculty and staff members from the IU School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation are today hiking northeast of Beijing at Mutianyu, one of the best-preserved parts of the country's Great Wall.\nWhile participants are in the middle of their 11-day trip, which includes five days of hiking, anyone can check up on their progress on a new Web site, www.greatwallwalk.indiana.edu.\nDavid Gallahue, the trip's organizer, said "friendship, fitness and international understanding" are themes of the 50-mile hike along parts of the 4,500 mile-long wall -- some of which are closed to the public. The group departed May 6.\nThe walk celebrates 10 years of friendship and cooperation between IU's HPER and the Beijing University of Physical Education, which is represented by 20 walkers. The partnership has promoted cultural exchanges and healthy lifestyles.\nIU's walkers have donated playground equipment at sites along its hike in China.\nIt's the first official international hike permitted in the closed sections by the Great Wall Commission, according to an IU press release.\nThe Web site includes daily reports from participants as they walk along sections of the wall in Beijing. Also included will be letters from the wall for trip participants to reflect upon their adventure, photographs and audio messages.\nOther sections explain trip objectives, give the 11-day itinerary and provide a list of IU trip participants and sponsors.\n"We are delighted to be able to develop this Web site so those interested in this trip, whether they be from Indiana, China or anywhere else in the world, can share our sense of adventure and excitement," Gallahue, also HPER associate dean and coordinator of the Great Wall hike, said in a statement.\nDavid Skirvin, HPER assistant dean for administration, went to China with an advance team April 21.\nSkirvin said the hike is no walk in the park -- parts of the Wall are like a mountain climb. He said participants had to train heavily, walking the steps of Memorial Stadium to prepare. Participants also had to raise money for the $2,000 trip themselves, he said.\nWith all the preparation, Skirvin said the event has been successful so far.\n"We are hoping that it will be a goodwill gesture between the two nations," Skirvin said.\nHe said people in Beijing are already talking about next year. But Skirvin said it's not likely to become a yearly event.
(05/07/01 2:36am)
His red Saturn packed to capacity with luggage, senior Umair Quraishi left for his home in Chicago Sunday.\nThe business major left Bloomington with a lighter wallet than he had hoped.\nHe watched his gas bill rise as he pumped $17.50 into his car at the College Mall Shell, 2700 E. 3rd St. He usually buys premium -- but the $1.97 per gallon Plus was good enough Sunday. Quraishi called the higher prices "a scam, a way for the oil companies to make more money."\nWhere he's headed, though, prices are no better. In Chicago he said he's heard that prices are already more than $2.50 per gallon.\nAnd some observers predict that gas could reach $3 per gallon, because of a variety of factors. Volatility in gasoline prices is possible this summer, with U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories below normal and with demand for gas rising an average of 6 percent during the summer, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.\nThe EIA predicts slightly lower average prices than last summer, when Gov. Frank O'Bannon temporarily suspended the gas tax to relieve the rise.\nIn Bloomington, blame for the prices varies about as much as the prices themselves. Junior Isaac Kinsey, an employee at Shell, said customers place blame in a variety of places: big oil companies, President George W. Bush, former president Bill Clinton, Middle Eastern countries and even gas station employees.\nKinsey said he's just as upset about high gas prices as the consumers who come in to complain. He said one customer cursed at him and asked for a refund for more than $50 in gas.\n"They act like I make the gas," Kinsey said. "When you drive into a gas station and you're upset about the price, don't bring it in to me."\nWhoever or whatever they blame, customers are angry, Kinsey said.\nRising prices have caused some consumers to change driving habits -- abandoning or using gas-guzzling vehicles sparingly and eliminating unnecessary trips.\nWallace Stuart, a resident of Mooresville, said he drove his 1989 Dodge Caravan Sunday because it gets better gas mileage. He left two newer cars in his garage.\n"I grimace at the costs. It's painful," said Stuart, who shelled out $29.75 for 15 gallons.\nAs he pumped his gas at Shell, Stuart said consumers should boycott the big oil companies. He said it's the big oil companies that are pushing up costs.\nBut according to the Energy Information Administration, the consumer cost for gasoline in 2000 was divided among several factors. Crude oil composed 46 percent, federal and state taxes 28 percent, refining costs and profits 14 percent and distribution, marketing and profits 12 percent.\nSenior Josh Johnson and Kinsey, both Shell employees, said they've found themselves engaged with customers discussing ways to lower gas prices.\nJohnson said more money should be put into a mass-transit system, heeding the example of European countries.\nKinsey said he has advice for customers to reduce prices: walk.\n"I walk everywhere"
(04/26/01 5:36am)
Every year, IU's lone Romanian studies professor, Christina Illias, must fight to keep funding for her program -- one of the most prominent in the country.\n"With every breath I have in myself, I will try to fight and keep it going," Illias said. "I think it's worth the battle."\nWith drastic cuts and declining interest in foreign language programs at IU and across the country, she has cause to be concerned. But with government demand for language specialists high, more might be at stake than Illias' job.\nLanguage is no longer the national priority it once was and should be, officials say, and IU's respected language programs are not immune to the drops in interest, enrollment and funding.\nLanguage enrollments of graduate and undergraduate students at the University have declined 25 percent in the last 10 years, said Randy Parker, assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Since 1990, undergraduate majors in the foreign language and culture departments have declined by 51 percent, and enrollments in the courses that count for the COAS foreign language requirement have dropped 27 percent, Parker said.\nRoxana Ma Newman, assistant dean of the Office of International Programs, said the University has noticed the decline.\n"Even we, who pride ourselves on our rich language offerings, aren't producing enough language experts," Newman said.\nNewman speaks Dutch, French, Spanish and Hausa, an African language. She said she believes learning and speaking languages is a key part of a college education. That's why she said she is troubled by declines on a local and national level.\nNationally, college enrollment has gone from about 4 million students in 1960 to about 15 million in 1998, but enrollment in foreign language enrollment showed much smaller gains, according to the American Council on Education. In 1960, about 600,000 college students enrolled in language, and in 1998, 1.1 million students enrolled.\nIn 1960, the percentage of total higher education enrollment of foreign language classes was 16.1 percent. In 1998, that number dropped to 7.9 percent, according to the American Council on Education.\nHigh stakes\nThe problem posed by language-training shortages runs deeper than enrollment. The stakes are high.\n"It's a unilateral language disarmament," said David Ransel, director of IU's Russian and East European Institute. "We're at the mercy of what people tell us in their own language.\n"That's not a good position to be in if you have pretensions of being a world power and influencing people all over the globe."\nWhile experts in language study have shown concern about low numbers of language graduates before, an April 16 article in The New York Times revealed how the shortage has the potential to seriously damage national security. The article spurred water-cooler discussions at IU's Office of International Programs, Newman said.\nA backlog of material to be translated and the lack of language specialists with security clearance caused dangerous lapses in national security, the Times reported. Information about the World Trade Center bombing and nuclear tests in Pakistan and India was not gleaned from intelligence material until after the bombing and tests.\nRobert O. Slater, director of the National Security Education Program, told the Times the shortage of linguists is a grave problem.\nReasons for the decline\nUniversity officials blame the downward language trend on several factors. Many times, IU's regularly offered 40 to 50 languages have been threatened by University funding cuts and low enrollment.\nRansel, director of the REEI, said many universities have relaxed language requirements, and many students fulfill such requirements by taking a few classes in one of the three main language taught in high schools -- Spanish, French and German.\nRansel said the University of Illinois requires language in every school of the university, but IU continues to relax language requirements.\nThe diffusion of the English language into many countries has also become an issue. Officials cite English "arrogance" in many ways as leaving the United States at the mercy of what English speakers in other countries tell it.\n"English is swamping other major foreign languages," Newman said.\nIU's Russian and East European Institute -- brought into prominence by the Cold War and Russia's Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the Earth -- has been affected by declining interest and fiscal cuts, Ransel said. The once forbidden land of Russia is now open. The romance worn away, Russia is less interesting to many Americans, Ransel said. Russia also lacks business opportunities, while in Eastern Europe --and especially Romania -- interest and business opportunities are peaking.\nIronically, Ransel said, the demand for language training during the Cold War was similar to today's demands. The break-up of the former Soviet Union and the resulting fragmentation of provinces and languages created a demand for people with language training, Ransel said.\nWhile the REEI doesn't offer languages, its area studies program offers languages through other departments.\nRansel said enrollments in such programs have typically stagnated or gone down for several reasons: The U.S. government reduced the number of foreign language and area studies grants it offers; University funding for instructors' salaries has gone down; students are choosing to go abroad rather than take languages locally; and battles with the University over logistics have crippled summer programs.\nRansel said IU has become more and more enrollment driven -- seeking to eliminate courses in which enrollment is low.\n"The University is being run more like a widget factory, processing bodies instead of maintaining necessary languages and courses," Ransel said.\nBut enrollment-driven budgeting is dictated by state budgeting, he said. IU receives about 25 percent of its operating budget from the state, a "pittance," Ransel said, forcing the University to operate like a private institution. The trend applies to colleges nationwide, he said.\nChristina Illias, who also teaches Latin and Classical Studies because University funding only covers a half-time Romanian professor, said the University recognizes quality in language programs and takes pride in them. But, she said, when there are financial problems, they start looking at departments and languages to cut.\n"You have to prove the worth (of your program) to the University and state with results," Illias said. "Once you've done away with (a program), it's not possible to bring it back. That's why I fought so hard to keep it afloat," Illias said.\nArmy training\nDespite reductions, IU's Russian and East European Institute is one of the oldest and most respected institutes in the country, said Major John Burbank, one of two Army foreign area specialists training in REEI area studies at IU. Area studies focus on a variety of cultural aspects of a country or region -- students are offered classes in humanities, literature, politics and history.\nThe Army pays for foreign area specialists' 18-month study after they learn a language or languages at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif. Burbank took Russian at the Institute, although he said he was asked to take Arabic, one of the languages with the most chronic shortages.\nIU's REEI has a competitive admission process, but the Army sends the majority of its specialists to other institutions for one main reason: other institutions offer in-state tuition rates to enlisted people. Burbank said several schools, including Ohio State and Kansas, offer such discounted rates, but IU does not.\n"The army tries to save money where they can," said Burbank, who wants to work as an attache in Russia.\nRansel said the realization of language deficiencies should be good news for IU's programs, especially in graduate studies. The consciousness will likely focus attention on the area and open doors for increased funding, Ransel said.\n"I think that this awareness that there is a critical shortage … is going to help to turn things around, but there will be a lag," Ransel said.
(03/30/01 5:21am)
Freshman Joe Grimme returned from spring break to find his Read Center door unlocked and his computer gone. \nHis Gateway, 19-inch monitor, printer, specialized software and scanner -- $3,620 worth of equipment that helps Grimme, who is legally blind -- had been stolen. \nThe software enlarges text and reads it out loud.\nEmployees from three University departments combined efforts to replace Grimme's stolen equipment last week. \nBefore class March 23, Grimme said a representative of University Information Technology Services called, saying the department had heard about the situation and would try to help.\n"Really, that was a surprising phone call," Grimme said. "Between UITS, Disabled Student Services and Adaptive Technology Center, they were going to get a computer together."\nThe computer was set up at 5 p.m. the same day.\nBefore spring break, Grimme had a special system set up to do his academic work, said Jody Ferguson, coordinator for Learning Disabilities Services. Between departments and from existing equipment, the University was able to provide Grimme a computer similar to the one that was stolen, she said.\n"It'll work for the rest of the year, and that's what I need," Grimme said.\nGrimme said he uses his computer to read his textbooks, write papers, mix music, edit film and design Web pages. Read Center's director of student affairs, Grimme said he used the residence hall's office computer until his was replaced.\n"He has the use of (the new) machine for as long as he needs it," Ferguson said. "It's as good or better equipment as what he had."\nFerguson said a personal computer is especially important for a student with a visual impairment.\n"When you think about college, reading is one of the main ways you access information," Ferguson said. "This computer has a way to make font much larger."\nGrimme called the Adaptive Technology Center to let them know specialized software the Center provides had been stolen with his computer.\nPrograms that allow the print on the screen to be enlarged and for text to be read aloud were replaced March 23 at no charge, said Margaret Londergan, director of the Adaptive Technology Center, part of UITS.\nWhen the center heard his computer was stolen, the staff began looking at ways to replace it and started contacting other departments.\n"We did not want his disability to stand in the way of his success as an IU student," Londergan said. "Everyone has opportunity for success."\nLondergan said she started the Adaptive Technology Center 18 months ago after realizing that access to technology for people with disabilities was lacking on campus. Today, about 250 students benefit from the hardware and software the center offers -- Braille output, computer screen magnification, writing assistance and making electronic-text CDs from textbooks.\nWhen he realized his graduation present had been stolen, Grimme said he didn't know what to do. He said he told his resident assistant, who called police. Grimme said the IU Police Department dusted for fingerprints but didn't find any evidence.\nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said investigators are checking into the possibility of duplicate keys that could have been made for the room and plan to interview people with knowledge of the specialized equipment in Grimme's room.
(03/23/01 5:13am)
An extra traffic headache on campus is expected to clear up next week.\nWith work on a sewer line on schedule, Woodlawn Avenue should be open by March 29, construction officials said.\nConstruction workers, putting in 12-14 hours a day, are making good time, assistant superintendent John Neal said.\nHe said the project is going more quickly than he expected.\nThe project on Woodlawn Avenue, the second of two recent projects, began March 12. While the road will open next week, the work should be done by April 2, said Doug Jones of City of Bloomington Utilities.\nWorkers are replacing a sewer line from the intersection of Seventh Street and Woodlawn Avenue north on Woodlawn to 10th Street. Woodlawn has been closed since work began.\nThe reopening of Woodlawn might alleviate traffic problems for now, but more extensive projects are planned.\nExtensive sewer improvement projects planned for the summer -- similar to last summer's work on Kirkwood Avenue -- will block major campus thoroughfares.\n"These two projects are the initial phase of major sanitary and storm sewer projects that will resume after commencement in May and continue through August," Kirk White, IU special assistant for external affairs, said in a press release. "Sections of Fee Lane and Tenth Streets will be closed during most of the summer months"
(03/21/01 4:22am)
IU alumnus and Bloomington resident Alex Cameron waited 18 years for his IU basketball tickets.\nThis year, his first with season tickets, Cameron didn't miss a game. He said he likes the direction IU basketball is headed -- and he doesn't want it to change.\nSo he decided to petition IU to make interim coach Mike Davis the team's permanent coach.\nIt started with gathering signatures on notebook paper outside Kroger, 1175 S. College Mall Road, and it grew from there, he said. Cameron's petition now has nearly 2,000 signatures, and consumes most of his time.\nBut Cameron, 67, who retired from Goodyear after serving in the air force, said he has had plenty of free time since moving to Bloomington two years ago.\nCameron gathered signatures Monday morning at Kroger and asked for students' support all afternoon at the Indiana Memorial Union, thanks to the IU Student Association, he said. He plans to continue the routine all week.\nCameron called IUSA to help get the word out about his petition, freshman Cristen Chapman, an IUSA executive assistant, said. Cameron wanted to do his own thing, but also wanted to get students involved, she said.\nChapman said IUSA admired Cameron's dedication and determination, and many in the organization agreed with his position. IUSA offered to provide space at the student activities desk at the IMU.\nIU President Myles Brand and the rest of a seven-member committee that will determine IU's next head basketball coach had their first meeting Monday. Cameron said he has delivered a partial list of signatures to Vice President for Administration Terry Clapacs, the head of the committee.\nCameron said Davis deserves the job. \n"Frankly, I think he can only go up," Cameron said. "The players love him, and he's second to none in recruiting."\n"A change now would be disruptive to the program," he said.\nAlthough some people walked by without acknowledging Cameron, he didn't let anyone get by without giving them his pitch. Cameron bellowed "Mike Davis for coach" to each passerby, pointing out his petition. Many people voiced agreement and signed.\nAs he signed the petition, senior Ryan Hartman said he was skeptical about Davis at first, but now he's convinced.\n"(Davis) really proved himself," Hartman said. "It'd be a shame not to give him the job."\nWith a commanding voice and lots of energy, Cameron was hard to ignore. He said he believes strongly in his cause.\nJunior Marques Gibson also signed the petition.\nGibson said Davis overcame many obstacles to come within a basket of the Big Ten Championship.\n"It's embarrassing that the best way the school rewards him is to appoint a committee to decide his fate," Gibson said. "If it was any other school, he would be hired."\nCameron will be asking for students' support at the student activities desk 2:30-6 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday in the IMU.
(03/09/01 6:57pm)
A lawyer for former men's basketball coach Bob Knight sent a letter last week to inform IU that Knight intends to sue IU President Myles Brand and the board of trustees. Knight lawyer Russell Yates wrote that IU has caused Knight to suffer damages in excess of $7 million.\nAfter 29 years as coach, Knight was fired by Brand Sept. 10 for repeated violations of a "zero-tolerance" policy imposed by the University.\nThe notice of intent to sue, obtained Thursday from the University, cites slander, libel, defamation and tortious interference with potential contracts, stemming from "wrongful termination." It also cites violations of Indiana's Open Door laws and intentional infliction of emotional distress.\nYates said Knight will file a lawsuit if the University refuses to negotiate.\n"I still hope we can resolve it, but (Brand) seems to be dragging his feet in talking to us," Yates said. "We got tired of waiting."\nUniversity of Wisconsin law professor Peter Carstensen, an expert in tort law, said that if Knight chooses to file suit, it would be a tort. A tort is a civil claim in which the plaintiff seeks damages. In tort cases, the plaintiff must show that he or she received actual injury from a wrongful act, as defined by law.\nThe letter from Knight's lawyer was required to get the attention of the state and to reserve Knight's right to file a lawsuit in the future, Carstensen said.\nKnight had 180 days after his firing to file an intent to sue claim. Today marks that deadline, Yates said. and Knight now has up to two years to file a lawsuit.\nUniversity spokeswoman Susan Dillman said she hopes Knight does not choose to pursue the claim further. She emphasized the letter is a notice of intent, not a lawsuit.\n"We were disappointed and taken aback to hear the allegations contained in the notice of tort claim," Dillman said. "The charges are frivolous and totally without merit."\nDillman would not comment on whether the University will negotiate with Knight.\nTrustee Ray Richardson said Knight has no valid claim.\n"IU owes Bob Knight nothing and will pay him nothing," Richardson said.\nJohn Walda, president of the board of trustees, said the trustees do not plan to formally respond to the move because they have not been sued. He agreed with Dillman, calling the allegations "somewhat frivolous."\n"The allegations in (the tort claims notice) are clearly unsupported by any facts," Walda said.\nIn his letter, Yates said actions by Brand and the board of trustees since September 2000 have violated Knight's rights. \n"The resulting damages to Mr. Knight include lost income, pain and suffering, mental humiliation and interference with his ability to obtain subsequent employment, all totaling in excess of $7 million," Yates wrote.\nYates declined to comment on what prompted specific charges in the document.\nCarstensen said Knight's case initially sounds "weak," but he said he doesn't know what Knight's lawyers know. He said Knight might be able to receive damages, even if the case is not strong.\n"If Knight's lawyers have at least some dirt to launder, the state of Indiana might pay Knight something to go away," Carstensen said.\nCarstensen said strong evidence of libel or slander would be key to the argument. Slander and libel are untrue statements about a person that damage his or her reputation. Slander is spoken, and libel is written.\n"The real issues are the facts," Carstensen said. "If the University knew facts that were contrary to what they said about Knight, then they're in deep trouble. If they spoke the truth or the truth as they thought they knew it, then they're probably not in trouble."\nBut Indiana has never been a plaintiff-friendly state, he said, and public figures are less protected.\nCarstensen said he isn't an expert on Indiana law, but predicted some arguments that could be made by Knight's lawyers. For example, he said, statements made when Knight was fired and afterward could be potential arguments.\n"These statements had serious economic effects. They didn't just say 'you're released as a coach.' That's done all the time," Carstensen said. "But they did it in a way that would make it hard for (Knight) to get a job in the future."\nCarstensen said another potential argument of Knight's is if someone from the University was saying negative things to prospective employers or harassing Knight or his family.\nFinally, if one of the reasons given for Knight's firing was inaccurate and the University knew it, it could be liable, he said.\nIndiana Public Access Counselor Anne Mullin O'Connor said legal action under the Open Door Laws isn't really a tort, but that it could have a potential for other legal action. She said that neither side has contacted her office for advice, but that there is still time for them to do so.\nRichardson said Knight was given a second chance to coach at IU and failed. Now he should move on, he said.\n"Bob Knight should take his wife's advice and get off the horse, because it's dead," Richardson said.
(03/09/01 12:17am)
A lawyer for former men's basketball coach Bob Knight sent a letter to IU last week saying Knight intends to sue IU President Myles Brand and the IU board of trustees. In the letter, Knight lawyer Russell Yates cites damages of more than $7 million.\n The notice of intent to sue, obtained today from the University, cites slander, libel, defamation and tortious interference with contracts, stemming from "wrongful termination." It also cites violations of Indiana's Open Door laws and intentional infliction of emotional distress.\n Yates said a lawsuit will be filed if the University won't negotiate.\n "I still hope we can resolve it, but (Brand) seems to be dragging his feet in talking to us," Yates said. "We got tired of waiting, and we didn't want to run up against the deadline."\n Friday will be 180 days after Knight's Sept. 10 termination, the deadline for filing intent to sue claims, Yates said. He said Knight now has up to two years to file a lawsuit.\n After 29 years as coach, Knight was fired by Brand for repeated violations of a "zero-tolerance" policy imposed by the University.\n University spokeswoman Susan Dillman said she hopes Knight does not choose to pursue the claim further. She emphasized that the letter is a notice of intent, not a lawsuit.\n "We were disappointed and taken aback to hear the allegations contained in the notice of tort claim," Dillman said. "The charges are frivolous and totally without merit."\n Dillman would not comment on whether the University will negotiate with Knight.\n The University counsel's office referred all questions to Dillman.\n In his letter, Yates said actions by Brand and the board of trustees since September 2000 have violated Knight's rights. \n "The resulting damages to Mr. Knight include lost income, pain and suffering, mental humiliation and interference with his ability to obtain subsequent employment, all totaling in excess of $7 million," Yates wrote. \n Yates declined to comment on what prompted specific charges in the document.
(03/05/01 7:02am)
A student and an IU employee were victims of two separate armed robberies within a span of 20 minutes early Sunday, IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said. No arrests have been made.\nMinger said IUPD is investigating the incidents separately but considers it possible that the same person committed both crimes or that two robbers were together.\nEric Halicki, a graduate student, was returning to Evermann Apartments after walking a friend home, Minger said. Phillip Sloffer, a piano tuner, was preparing to enter the Music Building through its east entrance.\nBoth had their wallets stolen by a man with a gun.\nHalicki was robbed at about 4:50 a.m. at Seventh Street and Jordan Avenue, Minger said. As Halicki was walking north and approaching the intersection, a man crossed the street and revealed a dark, semi-automatic pistol, according to police. \nMinger said Halicki threw the man his wallet. The man then walked north toward Wright Quad, and Halicki ran to Delta Gamma sorority, 105 N. Jordan Ave., to call IUPD, Minger said.\nAccording to police reports, Halicki described his assailant as a black man, early to mid-20s, medium complexion, between 6-foot and 6-foot-2-inches tall, with a mustache and facial hair, wearing a gray-hooded sweatshirt, a dark coat and dark jeans.\nMinger said IUPD received the call at 4:56 a.m., and responded to the scene and to the north of the scene, where they believed the robber was headed. As the report was taken, the second robbery was called in, at 5:12 a.m., Minger said.\nMinger estimated that Sloffer was robbed at about 5:09 a.m. at the Music Building. As Sloffer prepared to enter the building, he heard a man say, "Don't turn around. Give me your wallet," Minger said. Sloffer turned around and saw a black semi-automatic pistol pointed at him. The man placed the barrel of the gun behind Sloffer's head and repeated his order, according to police reports. Sloffer gave the man his wallet, and the man ran south toward Third Street.\nSloffer described the man as a black man, early to mid-20s, dark complexion, 6-foot tall, 170 pounds, wearing thick, dark-rimmed glasses, a black baseball or stocking cap, baggy, black pants and a black leather jacket with lettering on the back, according to police reports.\nMinger said IUPD searched the area in which the robberies occurred, turning up nothing. Minger said both victims will be interviewed again this week.\nIncidents of armed robbery are not common on campus, Minger said. The last armed robbery on campus was in 1998, he said.\n"The campus is pretty safe, but that doesn't mean people shouldn't use caution," Minger said.\nMinger said victims of armed robbery should comply with their assailant, turning over cash or valuables, while observing for details to assist police if they're in a position to do so.\n"Give them your wallet and let them go," Minger said.\nUniversity spokeswoman Susan Dillman said statistics show armed robbery is not a frequent incident on campus.\n"We are very concerned about this," Dillman said. "We hope the police are successful in finding the culprit or culprits."\nMinger says anyone who feels they may have been a witness to these incidents or has information which may assist the police is asked to call IUPD at 855-4111.
(03/01/01 5:16am)
Bulgaria has much to offer culturally, said Renne Traicova, a graduate student from the East European country the size of Ohio. Bulgaria is known for its hospitality, and its residents throw good parties, she said.\nBut few students have experienced that hospitality, Traicova said, or even know about the culture and history of the country.\nTraicova said she decided to plan a cultural event with her friends to educate everyone, whether or not they have ties to Bulgaria.\nToday, in the first Bulgarian cultural event at IU, students will have a chance to experience authentic Bulgarian food, wine, folk music and dance.\nSponsored by the Russian and East European Institute Graduate Student Association, the event will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union Faculty Room.\nAbout 150 people are expected to attend, Traicova said.\nBulgaria is known for its beautiful rose valleys, which produce rose oil for perfume. It is also the birthplace of yogurt and the home of some of the world's best wine, Traicova said. All will be included in today's celebration.\nThe anniversary of Bulgaria's independence falls in March, but Traicova said it is only an excuse to educate the community and University.\nKara Brown, a doctoral student and Russian and East European Institute outreach assistant, said it is the first independence day celebration for Bulgaria at IU.\n"(This event) has brought together Bulgarian students and members of the community (and) has reached out beyond the University," Brown said.\nTraicova said she knows of 15 students from Bulgaria, and she said the Bloomington community has a growing Bulgarian population.\n"I felt like Bulgaria was an under-represented country," Traicova said. "It's not as well known as other countries in that region."\nToday's event will feature a singer from the School of Music performing authentic Bulgarian folk music; traditional food such as feta cheese, grape leaves and lamb; and lessons in Bulgarian folk dancing, Traicova said.\nThe event will include a March tradition celebrating the arrival of spring. Tokens of the tradition made of colored yarn will be distributed. People are to tie them to a tree when they see the first stork of the season, Traicova said.\nMilena Neshkova, a graduate student from Bulgaria, said Bulgaria is an old and little known country. Founded in 681, Bulgaria gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire after a war between Turkey and Russia, she said.\nNeshkova said Bulgaria became a communist country between 1944 and 1989, with the transition from communism quieter than in surrounding countries.\nNegotiations began in 1998 for Bulgaria to join the European Union, and Neshkova said she expects the country to join between 2005 and 2010.
(02/28/01 6:31am)
Earlier this month a mistake in the bursar's office allowed thousands of students' names and Social Security numbers to be downloaded to a computer in Sweden, University officials said.\nToday those students will have a chance to get their questions answered.\nThe Graduate Student Organization is sponsoring a public forum on the security breach at 5:30 p.m. in Jordan Hall Room 124, said GSO moderator John Mersch, a graduate student.\nThe forum is a chance for students to air their concerns, ask University representatives what happened and find out what they should be doing to protect their personal information and accounts, Mersch said.\n"We are displeased with the University's actions," Mersch said. "We believe the University needs to come forward to the public with full disclosure (of) exactly what has been stolen, when it happened and what precautions are being taken to prevent this in the future."\nFive speakers have agreed to attend the panel: Bursar Susan Cote, Director of Student Legal Services John Irvine, University Information Technology Services Assistant Director Mark Bruhn and representatives from the IU Police Department and the University administration, Mersch said.\nEach speaker will have five minutes to address students about the incident, which occurred after a security step was skipped and a bursar office server was left unprotected.\nSomeone found and used the memory available, said Perry Metz, assistant vice president for external affairs. He said the computer was not hacked, which would require someone to break the computer's security provisions.\nIn this case, he said, someone scanning the Internet probably found server space on the University's computer and used it to store multimedia files. \nMetz said he doesn't believe the person deliberately downloaded students' names. The download was traced to an IP address at a university in Sweden, he said.\nStudents' information could have been downloaded as early as Jan. 25, University spokeswoman Susan Dillman said. The University investigated the incident from Feb. 7-16, she said, and students were informed in a letter dated Feb. 22.\nMetz said the information technology team took 10 days to issue their report.\n"Then it took an additional week for us to match the names with ID numbers, print the letters and get them in the mail," Metz said.\nMetz said scans of the Internet have turned up no evidence of students' information being available.\nA similar incident, in which Social Security numbers of faculty were released to the Internet, occurred in 1997. A privacy advocate located the names and ID numbers of hundreds of professors and posted them to make a point about privacy, Metz said.\nMetz said measures are being taken to prevent future breaches in security.\nThe Information Technology Security Office has scanned all bursar machines and reviewed security procedures, Metz said.\nContrary to the worries of some students on campus, names and ID numbers were the only pieces of information released, Metz said.\nMetz said IUPD is investigating and the FBI has been notified.\nIUPD has taken about 200 reports from students affected by the security breach at the bursar's office, IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. So far none of the students have experienced any fraudulent activity on their financial accounts, he said. \nIndividuals affected by the breach do not need to notify IUPD unless they feel there has been a fraudulent act committed, Minger said.
(02/26/01 7:47am)
A security breach at the bursar's office allowed a hacker to download the personal information of 3,100 students earlier this month, University spokeswoman Susan Dillman said.\nStudents' names and Social Security numbers could have been downloaded from a departmental computer as early as Jan. 25, Dillman said.\nShe said it appeared that the hacker was not operating from within the United States.\nAffected students said they received a letter about the breach Saturday. According to the letter from Bursar Susan Cote, the students' "information was transferred to various Internet sites."\nAcquiring a person's name and Social Security number would enable someone to open credit cards, falsify criminal records, empty bank accounts and engage in other fraudulent activities, unbeknownst to the individual whose identity is being stolen, said Kurt Richter, a graduate student who was affected by the breach.\n"It's enough to screw you good," he said.\nDillman said the breach occurred when the employee responsible for that server was out sick. Another employee tried to fix it, but skipped a step bringing the computer back up, leaving the server unprotected, she said.\nSomeone found the IU server and began to use it to store audio and music video files, she said. Then it appeared someone looked around in the server and downloaded from it at least once, she said.\nFeb. 6, the Bursar was notified by University Information Technology Services because of excessive, non-bursar traffic on the server, Dillman said. UITS investigated from Feb. 7 to 16 and discovered the breach.\nDillman said 500 sponsored students were exposed from Jan. 25 to Feb. 6, while 2,600 graduate students were exposed from Feb. 5 to 6.\nStudents said they are concerned not only about illegal access to their information, but also about the lack of information and help they've been offered by the University.\n"You can attribute this to human error and institutional coverup," Richter said.\nFiliz Cicek, a graduate student, said she questions the timing -- the letter came several days after the breach was discovered and on a weekend, when she could do little about it, Cicek said.\nDillman said the Bursar's office had to identify who the affected students were, and that's why notification took longer.\nGraduate student Garvey Pyke said he was angrier about how the University handled the breach than the breach itself.\n"The violation of trust was not the 'hole' but the way they have handled it," Pyke said.\nThe Feb. 22 letter gave students information about what kind of fraud to look for, gave Web sites with information about Social Security number fraud and instructed them to contact the bursar's office if they suspect fraud.\nThe computer breach could mean long term damage, graduate student Chad Tew, also a victim, said. He said the solution to keeping it from happening again is to eliminate the use of Social Security numbers as ID numbers.\n"For the long term solution to this, IU really needs to rethink its policy about having Social Security numbers serve as the personal identification number," Tew said. "Every student here at IU should feel like a potential victim."\nMichael Thomas, a graduate student and associate instructor, called Social Security numbers as ID numbers "very dangerous." The numbers are on his class lists -- and on hundreds of others all over campus, he said.\n"You can do a lot with those numbers," he said.\nPyke said Social Security numbers as IDs is only one of several technologically unsound campus practices.\n"We like to say we're the most wired, but we won't say if we're the most hacked," Pyke said.\nDillman said the University is taking steps to prevent another security breach in the future.\nAccording to the Feb. 22 letter, University computer security experts made recommendations to increase security that have already been implemented.
(02/26/01 5:29am)
The Supernova executive ticket won the IU Student Association election with about 51 percent of last week's vote, said senior Erin Koops, IUSA elections coordinator.\nThe ticket, led by president-elect Jake Oakman, a junior, will take office April 15.\nAbout 16 percent of the student body, 5,401 students, voted in this year's election Koops said. She said the voter turnout was up from last year.\nSupernova's closest competitor, the ONE ticket, received 35 percent. ONE was followed by the Miracle, Imagine and House tickets.\nOakman said it was an intense but clean election.\nThe executive tickets received election results Friday. Koops said the results were certified by the IUSA Supreme Court, and no complaints or contestments were accepted by the election commission.\nOakman said he found out his ticket had won just before a 5 p.m. Supernova ticket meeting Friday. \n"I did a fist pump as I was reading the e-mail," Oakman said. "I was pretty happy."\nThe only downside, Oakman said, was that two of Supernova's candidates did not win.\nThe ticket expected to get election results earlier, sophomore Jeff Wuslich, vice president for administration-elect, said. But about 40 Supernova-faithful students at the ticket's Willkie Quad meeting were willing to wait, he said.\nThe executive candidates announced the election results at the meeting.\n"All the hard work that everybody did really paid off," Wuslich, said. "We have good people and a good platform -- it looks like the student body realized that."\nAfter a dinner of celebration at Applebee's, Wuslich said the candidates began to think about their plans for the next few weeks.\nOakman said the first thing the ticket will do is get in contact with current officeholders and hold meetings with the ticket's new members of congress. He said he will also get in touch with current IUSA president Meredith Suffron, a senior, to shadow her for a couple of days.\nOnce in office, Supernova wants to open up communication with other student groups and work on campus unification, Oakman said.\n"We want to make (IUSA) a 365-day-a-year organization and not a two-day-a-year organization," Oakman said.\nONE presidential candidate Justin Treasure, a junior, said he will support Supernova's candidates, calling them "well-qualified."\nTreasure said he was satisfied with the campaign.\n"We were really pleased to get the issues we did out on campus," Treasure said.\nHe said the ONE ticket will continue to push for its issues on campus, and they would be happy to work with the administration-elect, Treasure said.\n"The ONE ticket will continue to work on its issues," Treasure said. "Win or lose IUSA, ONE promised to work on these issues."\nIn the next few weeks, Supernova will be thinking about how to fill department director positions and trying to fill empty seats, Wuslich said. He said they will also undergo training and orientation to learn what roles they will fill next year.
(02/22/01 6:09am)
The IU Police Department and the family of the freshman whose Feb. 4 death is still unexplained are concerned people with information might not be coming forward.\nBoth are encouraging anyone who knows anything to call IUPD immediately.\nSeth Korona, 19, died of bleeding in the brain caused by a head injury, Monroe County Coroner David Toumey said Sunday. Korona attended a Jan. 27 party at the Theta Chi fraternity, was hospitalized Jan. 29 and remained in a coma until his death.\nThe investigation will continue into next week at least, Lt. Jerry Minger said. Officials had hoped the investigation would be completed this week.\nMinger said the department wants to speak to everyone who attended the Theta Chi party -- potentially 600 people.\nMinger said 300 people were invited to the party, and each was allowed to bring a guest.\n"I'd be happy if absolutely everyone at that party calls us," Minger said. "Then we'd be as thorough as possible."\nHe said the department wants individuals at the party to call IUPD, whether or not they believe they have information to offer. He said some people at the party might think what they saw is insignificant, assume the department already knows what they saw or simply assume IUPD will call if it needs information.\nMinger said he has heard there are people with first-hand knowledge who have not contacted IUPD. He said the department wants to talk to these people.\nThe department has not yet been able to obtain a guest list or list of rushees, Minger said.\nThe Theta Chi party was registered with the Interfraternity Council and the University was notified, said Jim Gibson, assistant dean of student activities. Fraternities can register their parties with IFC, which passes the information on to the University, Gibson said. \nIUPD has interviewed 30 people who attended the party, Minger said. Those already interviewed were helpful, he said.\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said e-mails were sent to the international organizations of five or six greek houses who had members at the party requesting their local chapter members cooperate with the IUPD investigation.\nIUPD is asking for cooperation from anyone -- regardless of whether they attended the party -- who has any knowledge of what happened to Korona before his hospitalization.\n"We want to reap as much information as possible about Seth Korona's activities," Minger said.\nKorona's family in New Jersey wants to know the truth about what happened, family friend Debra Neilson said.\nFamily members are not in a rush -- they just want answers after a complete investigation, Neilson said. Like IUPD, the family is encouraging individuals to come forward so they can know the truth and have closure. \n"The family is concerned that the investigation will be hampered by the fact that no one is coming forward," Neilson said. "Someone had to see something. We just want to get to the truth."\nMinger said he cannot offer any time table for the completion of the investigation.\nIt depends on how willing people are to share what they know, he said.\nMeanwhile, Korona's friends and family are waiting.\n"A lot of people are walking around thinking they lost a friend for no reason at all," Neilson said.
(02/19/01 5:57am)
Theta Chi's national organization revoked the IU chapter's charter Friday because of a Jan. 27 party at the house. Alcohol was served at the party, a violation of the chapter's probation, said David Westol, executive director of Theta Chi fraternity. \nThe party is also at the center of the IU Police Department's investigation into freshman Seth Korona's death.\nKorona, 19, died Feb. 4 from a skull fracture. University officials said they believe he suffered the fracture at the Jan. 27 party.\nAlcohol served at the party violated written conditions of a January 2000 probation from the national organization, Westol said.\nThe Theta Chi Grand Chapter -- composed of eight Theta Chi alumni from across the country -- made the decision to revoke the charter during a conference call late Thursday night, Westol said.\nThe decision means IU's Alpha Iota chapter, 1440 N. Jordan Ave., will not exist at IU for at least three years, Westol said.\nMembers were notified by e-mail Friday morning.\nAlpha Iota chapter president David Friedmann, a sophomore, could not be reached for comment this weekend. His Bloomington lawyers also could not be reached for comment Friday.\nTheta Chi had been suspended by its ruling body since Feb. 1 and by the University since Feb. 7, pending the completion of an investigation into Korona's death.\nThe loss of the charter will not affect the IU Police Department investigation or potential University action after the investigation, said Dean of Students Richard McKaig.\n"We'll still be proceeding with our own process," McKaig said. "Their removing their charter means there's not a Theta Chi chapter here, but you haven't heard the University's decision."\nMcKaig said the University could take action against individuals or set parameters on allowing the fraternity to return to campus.\nWestol said Theta Chi International had enough evidence to revoke Alpha Iota's charter, even as the IU investigation continues.\nTheta Chi was evicted by its landlord last week. Members have until mid-March to vacate their house, Westol said.\nThe chapter was also required to submit a formal response to a Theta Chi committee's recommendation that the chapter's charter be revoked. Theta Chi International received the chapter's brief response Thursday, Westol said.\n"I did not expect a lengthy response," he said. "It was more of an acknowledgment."\nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said IUPD will complete its investigation in the next few days. Minger said Lt. Steve Fiscus, who is conducting the investigation, hopes to have spoken to about 30 people.\nMinger said he expects the investigation into Korona's death to be completed by Wednesday. Once the police report is filed, it will be shared with the coroner, Minger said.\nWestol said he hopes to see Theta Chi eventually return to campus. \n"We would do so only with the permission and blessing of the University and the Interfraternity Council," Westol said. "The standard is normally three years."\nIf the University allows recolonization in the next few years, Westol said, current members would not be eligible.
(02/19/01 5:53am)
Freshman Seth Korona died of bleeding in the brain caused by blunt force trauma to the head, Monroe County Coroner Dave Toumey said Sunday.\nKorona, 19, died Feb. 4 after being in a coma at Bloomington Hospital for nearly a week.\nThe blow to his head was consistent with injuries associated with a fall, Toumey said. He said he will continue to review the case to determine whether the death should be classified as accidental. \nIn the days before Korona died, University health personnel treated 135 students with an antibiotic designed to prevent meningitis and prepared a public health warning, according to University officials.\nDr. Hugh Jessop, director of the IU Health Center, said Bloomington Hospital had alerted the University that Korona might have bacterial meningitis. The University was later told he did not have the disease, Jessop said. \nBloomington Hospital cannot release details about Korona's care, including whether he had meningitis, said hospital community relations director Cassandra Brooks. \nThe University had been ready to issue a statement to let the public know about a case of meningitis, Dean of Students Richard McKaig said.\n"Drafts of statements were prepared and ready to roll," McKaig said.\nBut the statement was never needed.\nKorona's floormates in Foster Quad, students in classes with him and members of the Theta Chi fraternity, where Korona had attended a Jan. 27 party, were offered counseling to evaluate their risk and, if they chose, given the antibiotic for free, Jessop said. He said the antibiotic has no side effects.\nDoctors suspected meningitis when Korona was taken to the hospital, so they began tests and notified the University, Brooks said.\nKorona had shown potential symptoms of meningitis such as a high fever, neck pain and flu-like symptoms, Jessop said.\nDoctors at Bloomington Hospital decided Korona did not have meningitis when culture tests did not show the disease after 36 hours, Jessop said. The treatment for the other students was discontinued Jan. 31.\nDoctors discovered Korona's head injury a few days after he was admitted, Brooks said.\nToumey said if doctors had known immediately that Korona had sustained a blow to the head, they might have been able to do more to treat him.\nMeanwhile, Korona's family has a lot of questions, said Debra Neilson, a family friend. She said she hopes the IU Police Department investigation -- expected to be completed this week -- provides some answers.\n"The family is not in a rush. They're making sure (the investigation) is complete," Neilson said. "We just want to know the truth"