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(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Cheap eats, an eclectic mix of stores and close proximity to campus brands the Kirkwood Avenue shopping district as the best place in Bloomington to blow a paycheck. Boasting three bars, a variety of ethnic and American restaurants and stores ranging from trendy to classic to over-the-top, Kirkwood offers food, shopping and entertainment mere seconds away from campus.\nDanny Cheshire, a sales associate at Urban Outfitters, says most clothing stores on Kirkwood do the bulk of their business during the evening and weekend hours. Though Cheshire admits most people end up spending upwards of $100, a majority of shoppers discover funky finds on Urban's clearance racks. And, he claims, the location can't be beat.\nHaving already discovered this sale rack, junior Margaux Childers agrees.\n"When I shop I come to Kirkwood," says Childers, who lives close to campus. "I don't go to the mall -- it's easier to just walk. I think that's the case for a lot of people."\nKirkwood's prime location, in fact, was one of the key factors motivating locally-based sportswear store Steve and Barry's to move from its former Indiana Avenue building.\nSteve and Barry's sales associate Kris Rollins, a sophomore, says much of their business is generated through the influx of parents and alumni for athletic events and specially-planned weekend events on campus.\nIt's Rollins first year working at Steve and Barry's, but he claims he never even went into the store's previous location.\n"There's a definite advantage from being located so close to Nick's (English Hut)," Rollins says. "And our items are constantly on sale -- the whole year long, it's buy one get three free."\nInexpensive gifts can also be found at Greetings. Though Greetings operates another store at The Shoppes on College Mall Road, the Kirkwood location caters to a distinctly more "hip" crowd, sales associate Lisa Simmons says.\n"All our efforts focus on the exact crowd we know comes down to Kirkwood," Simmons says. "Our T-shirts are huge; those draw people in. But it's also those miscellaneous small things -- those little knickknacks -- that get people to come in"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Police arrested 11 students and two nonstudents late last week on drug-related charges at two residence halls, a fraternity and two off-campus locations. Spearheaded by IU Police Department Officer Dave Hannum, who was assisted by a team of about 30 officers from the IU and Bloomington police departments, the sting culminated three months of undercover work by the South Central Indiana Drug Task Force.\nPreliminary charges include dealing marijuana, maintaining a common nuisance, and possession of marijuana and cocaine-related offenses, according to the Monroe County prosecutor's office.\nDean of Students Richard McKaig could not speculate on the exact course of IU disciplinary action the students will face, but he said judicial board appearances are a possibility. \nThe Code of Student Ethics prohibits students from possessing "controlled substances … including, but not limited to, marijuana, cocaine, narcotics, certain stimulants and depressants, and hallucinogens."\nIt also prohibits the sale or transfer of illegal drugs to IU students. \nOn Thursday, the task force force divided into teams of four to five officers and left IUPD headquarters at about 1:30 a.m., Hannum said. Each team was assigned a specific location and suspect and served warrants.\nHannum was assigned to the federally-funded task force in mid-September.\nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said Thursday's arrests are part of an "ongoing effort" to communicate to students that drug dealing and abuse will not be tolerated.\nThe investigation's main focus, Hannum said, is to catch those suspected of distributing illegal substances.\n"We're not after people who smoke dope," he said. " We're after people who are dealing."\nThree members of Sigma Nu fraternity, 1015 N. Jordan Ave., were arrested at the house early Thursday: Junior Wesley T. Deig, 23; Junior Dustin M. Schnarr, 21, and Timothy Wade, 22.\nThree residents of Foster Quad were arrested early Thursday morning: Freshman Aaron J. Feldman, 19; freshman Vincent Lee Tung Shen, 18; and freshman Bruce Scott Davis, 18.\nThree students were arrested at Collins Living Learning Center late Thursday: Freshman Carlton Krumpfes, 18; freshman Jonathan P. Raskin, 18; and freshman Greg N. Corwin, 18.\nTwo students were arrested at off-campus locations Thursday: Junior Wesley D. Trueblood, 21; and freshman Yves K. Niyikiza, 19.\nTwo nonstudents were also arrested in the sting: Michael R. Diggs, 23; and IU Building Services employee Nicholas J. Garcia, 23. \nThe president of Sigma Nu, junior Doug Schaaf, did not return repeated phone calls last week and during the weekend. Sophomore Casey Holsapple, vice president of campus relations for IFC and a member of Sigma Nu, said the fraternity has no comment.\nInterfraternity Council president Colin Godecke, a senior, said he could not speculate on potential disciplinary action that might be taken by the IFC against the chapter. Because the arrests took place on chapter property, the IFC will begin investigating the matter immediately, he said.\n"This is quite a serious offense, but as of right now I don't know enough to be able to say either way what will happen to the chapter," Godecke said. "Some corrective action will be taken. This is not something we condone happening in our chapters on campus … We have a very clear substance abuse policy, and this is not consistent with that."\nSenior Ken Minami, president of the Residence Halls Association, said RHA usually does not intervene in drug-related situations in the residence halls. Instead, students facing alcohol or drug-related charges usually face disciplinary action by the University if it has been determined that the Student Code of Ethics has been violated.\nSearches and arrests conducted at greek houses and residence halls are conducted in a similar fashion, Minger said. Officers first knocked on the suspects' doors and identified themselves as IUPD officers. Upon entering the residences, they then identified the suspects as those individuals named on the arrest warrants and notified the suspects of the charges against them.\nThe drug task force relies on an extensive network of informants, many of whom Minger said are IU students or residence hall employees, to expand case files.\n"It's often the case that residents of the dormitories are the informants," Minger said. "It's hard to maintain a place where you sell and use marijuana daily and not have that become known to people living around you"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
When former athletics director Clarence Doninger retired last year, it wasn't purely by choice. \nHired in 1991 to assume leadership of the IU Athletics Department, Doninger held the position of director for just more than ten years before he was forced to retire under IU's mandatory retirement policy, which requires administrators to retire at age 65. \nAfter 60 years intact, the policy will be reconsidered Wednesday morning. Administrators will meet with linguistics professor Paul Newman and representatives from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission at 9:30 a.m. in Bryan Hall to sign an agreement requiring the University to rewrite its stance on mandatory retirement. \nThe meeting stems from a complaint filed by Newman and the EEOC more than a year ago, in which the plaintiffs state IU is in violation of federal law by requiring administrators to retire on the basis of age. Newman claims University counsel has denied this assertion since the complaint was filed.\nNewman predicts the change will be embraced by IU faculty.\n"I have never met one person in the University who has defended it and said it made any sense," Newman said. "I can see having faculty rotate jobs to get young blood and new professors in. I can see having term limits to certain (administrative) positions. What I'm opposed to is discrimination because of chronological age."\nThe current University policy requiring administrators to retire at 65 can be waived by the president on a temporary, yearly basis.\nThe Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 that protects employees from firing or mandatory retirement practices based on age. The act, however, does not apply to state employees. And the Supreme Court has never ruled age discrimination unconstitutional. \nUniversity counsel Dottie Frapwell the EEOC resolution would not kill the retirement policy -- it would merely ask the University to rewrite the policy.\nBut to Newman, the agreement means IU will change the policy.\n"What the agreement will require is the rewriting of the policy so that, in effect, 95 percent of people affected before by it won't be now," he estimated.\nMandatory retirement practices have been abolished at most U.S. universities since 1994, according to a study by Harvard University's Graduate School of Education.\nBut the mandatory retirement age saves money that IU needs. IU faces a payout of $2 billion over the next 30 years to professors who retired before the 18-20 plan was terminated 12 years ago, according to The Associated Press. The plan -- instituted about 40 years ago -- promises five years' salary after retirement to professors who worked at IU for at least 20 years. \nAs a result of the steep 18-20 costs, new employees' retirement packages are cut by a third, and departments shoulder 20 percent burden, according to the AP. \nThe mandatory retirement limit plays into the equation as a money-saving method, affecting hiring practices as well. \n"You want to hire as many junior people as you can…Unless you feel it's very important to hire a senior professor, you'll try to get a younger person," Kumble R. Subbaswamy, dean of college of arts and sciences, told the IDS in August. \nIn fact, former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Morton Lowengrub left IU after 32 years under mandatory retirement -- only to assume a position at Yeshiva University in New York as vice president for academic affairs.\nDoninger, who was asked to support the EEOC resolution and declined to do so, said he was unaware mandatory retirement policies applied to him when he accepted the position of athletics director. Doninger said he was not aware the policy affected his job. \n"It was a surprise," he said. Though Doninger accepted the policy and retired at 65, he feels reconsideration of mandatory retirement practices is long overdue.\n"I did not contest the policy because I've supported IU for years," Doninger said. "I did disagree with the policy, and I think it is appropriate that the University now reverse itself on that."\nNewman approves of IU's sex and gender-based policies regarding discrimination, but said he can't understand why the University defends age-based mandatory retirement.\n"I can't believe I'm the first person to bring this up," Newman said.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
IU police arrested two students before spring break on charges of creating and distributing hundreds of fake IDs on campus. The discovery of the IDs stemmed from an IUPD narcotics investigation that began in November, led by IU police officer Dave Hannum.\nFreshman Nicolas Baytler, 18, and associate's degree student Jeffrey S. Bravine, 20, both face misdemeanor charges of manufacturing false identification. They allegedly used personal computers to create the IDs for underage students.\nWhile police are unsure exactly how many IDs Bravine and Baytler made, they can track students who purchased the IDs from him through computer files.\n"We have everything scanned into (Bravine's) computer," IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. \nFor now, however, police can only assimilate the information and submit it to the prosecutors handling the case. Minger said IUPD plans on releasing the list of names to the dean's office and speculated on the possibility of punishment through the Office of Student Ethics.\n"This is an example of what happens from the drug work that Officer Hannum's been doing," Minger said. "It starts out with making controlled marijuana buys over the course of several months, and then you find out more students who are dealing, you find out dealing in harder drugs and turning out illegal fake IDs…it's very typical of the kind of investigation that starts out with one thing and moves on with others."\nBaytler and Bravine will also face drug charges resulting from the narcotics investigation. Two other students were arrested on drug charges as well. \nBaytler, a resident of Foster Quad, also faces preliminary charges of conspiracy to commit dealing a schedule I controlled substance, maintaining a common nuisance, reckless possession of paraphernalia, possession of false identification and five counts of dealing marijuana. \nBravine, resident of East 19th Street, faces preliminary charges of reckless possession of paraphernalia, maintaining a common nuisance and possession of marijuana.\nPolice also arrested freshman Benjamin Griffel, 18, and freshman Zachary S. Sussman, 19, both residents of McNutt Quad. Griffel faces preliminary charges of possession of a schedule II controlled substance, possession of false identification, possession of marijuana and reckless possession of paraphernalia.\nSussman faces preliminary charges of conspiracy to commit dealing a schedule I controlled substance, possession of marijuana, dealing marijuana, maintaining a common nuisance and possession of false identification.\nMinger said the investigations began with a case against Baytler concerning controlled buys of marijuana. They later expanded to Sussman when it was discovered Baytler and Sussman were also discussing supplying other drugs, such as mushrooms. \nPolice were then able to obtain subpoenas to monitor Baytler and Sussman's computer traffic.\n"They were communicating over the computer about when drugs were coming in, how much, sales and things like that," Minger said. "On those logs of their traffic, they were also talking about their fake ID business and how they were supplying to various people around campus." \nPolice then obtained warrants for Baytler and Sussman and served them the during the early morning hours of March 7, the Thursday preceding spring break. Officers then served a warrant on Sussman and searched his room at McNutt Quad. The search turned up drugs and false IDs that were in Griffel's possession, Minger said. \nPolice then obtained a telephonic search warrant to search Bravine's East 19th Street apartment and found evidence that he had been making fake IDs. \n"Right at his computer we found over 30 pieces of information -- personal information, passport pictures -- as well as over 80 files of signatures, photos, templates and things like that," Minger said.\nPolice also discovered Bravine had purchased a program over the Internet allowing him to affix holograms to the false driver's licenses he was creating. At the time of the police search, Bravine was working on over 50 Connecticut licenses.\nAfter searching Bravine's apartment, police confiscated his computer, scanner, printer and monitor. \nDean of Students Richard McKaig said he has not yet received an official report from IUPD detailing the arrests. If convicted of the charges, Bravine may have violated sections of the Code of Student Ethics concerning fraud, McKaig said, but he could not speculate further until reading the official police report.\nThe students arrested on campus will likely face hearings before the campus judicial board. In extreme cases, McKaig noted, students may meet with hearing officers instead.\nThe Code of Student Ethics prohibits students from possessing "controlled substances…including, but not limited to, marijuana, cocaine, narcotics, certain stimulants and depressants, and hallucinogens."\nIt also prohibits the sale or transfer of illegal drugs to IU students. \nMinger said incidents in which students violate state law are normally deemed violations of the student code as well but said IUPD must allow the Office of Student Ethics to make that distinction on a case-by-case basis.\nA similar sting operation in December 2001 pinned 13 offenders, 11 of whom were IU students. Led by Hannum and a team of officers, the sting targeted marijuana and cocaine use and sales. The charges culminated three months of undercover work by the South Central Indiana Drug Task Force.\nSenior Ken Minami, former president of the Residence Halls Association, told the IDS in December that RHA generally does not intervene in situations involving drug charges in the residence halls. Instead, students facing alcohol or drug-related charges usually face disciplinary action by the University if it has been determined that the Student Code of Ethics has been violated.
(04/17/02 4:23pm)
Last year, Drew Marsch could barely make it through a 20-mile road ride. This year, he's in the gym four to five hours a day and spends several more at Bill Armstrong Stadium, pounding the cinders in preparation for Saturday's race. \nThe junior business major "just sort of fell into riding," one of the rookie recruits deemed "in shape enough" to start training with the Delta Sigma Pi cyclists.\n"I'd played soccer my entire life," Marsch, a junior, said, "but when I went on my first road ride, I was dying going up the hills. I made it the whole way, but it was tough."\nDelta Sigma Pi, a coed business fraternity, sends a men's and women's team to Little 500 each year. The men's team qualified No. 29 this year, an improvement from last year's No. 33 ranking. The women qualified No. 27. They qualified No. 23 in 2001.\nMoney poses a unique problem for non-greek teams like Delta Sigma Pi: Independent riders must pay for all their own expenses -- including bikes, training gear and spring break cycling trips.\n"We would like to be one of those teams up there training all year, and we've got goals for next year already," Marsch said. "But in reality, we know that's not gonna be us. We don't have the resources other teams have." \nMarsch is the only returning rider this year, a fact he chalks up to the demanding course loads required of business majors. \n"One guy graduated, and another just didn't have time," Marsch said. "The (business school) obviously loads a lot on us, so it's understandable."\nSenior Erin Mahoney, a veteran rider for the Delta Sigma Pi women's team, began riding with a friend who rides for Alpha Omicron Pi. \n"I was like, oh my God -- is this how it feels every single time," Mahoney asked after her first ride.\nYet she's worked through the pain and returns this year as the women's team's only veteran. Rookies include juniors Lindsey Jenda, Sarah Vohden and senior Mitzi Wilson. They began training together in January after the rookies completed the business school's integrative core coursework.\nBoth Marsch and Mahoney agreed it's difficult to recruit and retain new riders. \n"After the race each year about 50 people come up and say they want to ride," Marsch said. "Then it kind of dwindles. We're not going to be the best out there, and we know that. It's pretty much whoever puts time and effort into this will be out there riding." \nMahoney agreed.\n"It's really hard to find interest," Mahoney said. "At first, tons are interested, but as the year goes on, they're like, 'Never mind.' Basically it's me going out there and getting interest fired up."\nThe Delta Sigma Pi teams typically begin training at the outset of second semester, Marsch said.\nWorkouts usually consist of weight training, stationary bike workouts at the Student Sports and Recreation Center or road rides, and occasional sessions on rollers or wind trainers. The teams spent spring break together in Myrtle Beach, SC.\nWhile fraternity members turn out in full force on race day to support their teams, Mahoney admitted the team often feels a bit out of place during team events leading up to the final race. \n"Our frat is really supportive on race day, but all that stuff before makes it hard," Mahoney said. "Once in awhile some friends come out to the track, but usually it's just us and the greek houses. But in a way, that shows we have a lot of heart and spirit -- despite all odds, we'll go out there and do it."\nUltimately, the Delta Sigma Pi riders view the race as an intramural event, softening the biting competitive spirit typically associated with Little 500.\n"We go out there and we give it our best shot, but at the same time we're not disappointed if we don't win," Marsch said.
(04/11/02 4:07am)
The residents of Collins Living-Learning Center are infuriated over the firing of their resident assistants. The RAs fired Tuesday for violating a closed-weekend rule had clean records, were of legal drinking age, had substantial work experience in Residential Programs and Services and, above all, had no idea their employment would be terminated should they violate an RPS verbal contract. \nThey have one week -- one week to say goodbye to scores of residents accustomed to seeing them in the halls, in the coffeehouse, in the dining hall. With less than a month of classes left, they've got one week to find some place off campus to live. \nThe verbal agreement between RPS and the resident assistants on the evening of the NCAA championship game does not and should not bear the same weight and punishment as the employees' written contract. The agreement was made two days before the tournament's final game and, though enforceable through RPS policy, does not hint at any punishment possibilities should RAs violate the contract. \nThe RPS staff agreement specifically mandates that staff members are employed by RPS, not individual residence centers. Thus, punishment for RPS contract infractions must be handled in a consistent manner in which every RA judged to be in violation of residence hall rules should be punished equally. The possibility that the Collins RAs were punished more severely than resident assistants at other on-campus living facilities guilty of the same infraction is atrocious. \nRPS officials should reconsider the firing of the three Collins RAs. The punishment does not fit the crime.
(03/28/02 6:31am)
There are 53,250 seats in the Georgia Dome. The only problem for IU students and basketball devotees is actually getting one of them.\nEach of the schools headed to the Final Four have been granted 4,526 tickets for all three games. But for students, getting their hands on University-delegated tickets has proven a tremendous challenge -- and coming up with the money to pay for public seating has only compounded the headache.\nSince Sunday morning, IU Athletics Department ticket office employees have been calling student ticketholders selected through a lottery to purchase seats to Saturday and Monday's games. In addition, 3,500 season ticketholders have been informed of their eligibility to purchase tickets, IU ticket manager Mike Roberts told the Associated Press.\nSenior Andrew Beaupre was one of the lucky few. Randomly selected to gain the opportunity to purchase tickets through the athletics department lottery, Beupre ended up paying $245 for two tickets to all three games.\n"The cost is amazing," Beaupre said. "I wish there were more tickets that went to the students."\nBeupre said he plans to sell his ticket for Monday's game if Oklahoma defeats the Hoosiers Saturday night.\n"If we do lose, hopefully I will be able to sell my ticket for Monday for more than I bought both of them for," Beupre said.\nHe may not have an easy time of it, however. NCAA host cities face pressure from the conference to intervene in ticket scalping. Indianapolis, for example, created a short-term ban on selling tickets above face value in an effort to curb illegal sales. While Atlanta has not yet resorted to city-wide measures, a "no-scalp zone" extending 2,700 on all sides of the Georgia Dome, will be enforced by city police. \nIn the meantime, however, Beaupre isn't thinking of defeat. He's leaving for Atlanta at 8 a.m. Friday morning and "plans to paint the town red."\n"We're winning it," Beupre said.\nTwenty-seven percent of the available seats -- 14, 378 tickets -- at the Dome have been allocated as public seats. Another 12.5 percent have been delegated to local organizers, while corporate and broadcast partners snagged 10 percent of seats. Athletic directors, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and media account for the remaining 16.5 percent.\nSophomore Liz Couleur was selected through the IU lottery to get tickets. She ended up buying two tickets at the main level for $160 apiece -- seats that are "selling for mucho dinero now," she said.\n"I got called last night and was asked to call back immediately this morning," Couleur said. "I went to the ticket office because I knew I'd have to pay for them up-front."\nCouleur's driving down with her boyfriend, Mike, an associate scout for the Atlanta Braves. If IU wins Saturday, the couple plans on going to the Atlanta Zoo and visiting the Coca-Cola Museum. They'll also hit the Braves' opening game Monday. \nIf IU loses Saturday, she'll sell her tickets and head back to Bloomington.\nFreshman Mark Barry also scored two tickets through the lottery for Saturday and Monday's IU matchups. He paid $325 for the seats and plans on taking a buddy to catch a bit of the action in Atlanta Saturday.\nBarry plans to drive to Atlanta. The Indianapolis International Airport reports flights filled to near-capacity for Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- a weekend complicated by both travelers homebound for the Easter holiday and basketball enthusiasts headed to the Final Four. Nevertheless, Barry remains undaunted.\n"I felt very lucky," Barry said. "I haven't even given it a second thought. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and I didn't want to pass it up."\nFor students without that golden opportunity, however, scrounging up the funds for tickets -- or in some cases, finding ticketholders willing to part with even nosebleed seats -- has proven more than frustrating.\nIU cheerleader Ricci Kohlmeyer spent most of Wednesday morning calling her parents on her cellular phone, trying to scrounge up a pair of seats for Saturday's game. Kohlmeyer has her way paid -- she'll be on the sidelines as usual, cheering the Hoosiers on to victory with fellow members of the coed squad. But her parents, who routinely make the two-hour trek from Evansville to Assembly Hall to watch their daughter cheer, were ticketless for the biggest IU athletics event of the year. After a few hours on the phone, Kohlmeyer finally ended up getting tickets for more than $300 apiece.\nTwo Bloomington travel agencies, Sunshine Travel and Carlson-Wagonlit, have set up inclusive packages offering airfare, hotel accommodations and game tickets for upwards of $1,200. For many students, this price is far too steep, yet it wanes in comparison to tickets currently up for grabs on eBay and other Internet sites, some priced at over $11,000 each. \nYet for some, back-court seats and a guaranteed lousy view just aren't worth the hassle. Some, like sophomore Laci McCandless, would rather hold out for Monday's game. McCandless plans on driving with her parents to Atlanta Friday and watching the game at a sports bar or restaurant. They plan on buying tickets from scalpers for Monday's game.\n"We just decided it would be really difficult to get tickets for Saturday, but that the losers will be selling their tickets for Monday," McCandless said. \nOthers, like sophomore Mark Waligora, plan on heading home for the weekend and watching from there. Waligora wasn't selected through the IU lottery to get tickets. He's more than a little bitter, especially since his parents said they would have sent him to Atlanta to catch the game. Instead, he'll be watching from Cincinnati, at a party co-hosted by longtime buddy and IU sophomore Greg Dietz.\n"I'm pissed," Waligora said. "But I leave Friday, and we're going to have the high school boys go to BW-3's or one of our houses. It should be sweet, but it would be better seeing your team play live."\nHe thinks more student tickets should be allocated, however. \n"I think it's outrageous that more consideration isn't taken for the students," Waligora said. "Players play for the students."\nJustin Allen contributed to this report.
(02/25/02 4:16am)
This weekend, a few of my sorority sisters and I packed into my battered Toyota Corolla and headed up I-65 to West Lafayette, swimsuits in hand and Dave Matthews Band blaring. We'd been approached by our house's director of philanthropy a few weeks before and asked to participate in Purdue's Delta Gamma chapter's annual philanthropy, Anchor Splash. The event pits greek houses against one another in relay and synchronized swimming events to raise money for the sorority's national philanthropy, Service for Sight. \nIt didn't matter that my tan had faded in October and I hadn't even thought about a bikini since at least August. I was ready for a day of road tripping and catching up with friends in Boilermaker country. So at 7 a.m. Saturday, I dragged myself out of bed and got ready to put on my flippers. \nWhen we got to the high school where the event was being held, I was shocked. Expecting the usual lackluster turnout characteristic of most IU greek philanthropy events, I was greeted instead by a sea of sorority and fraternity letters, Speedos and swim caps. \nI looked at my teammates, all of whom were expecting a low-key event as well. I hadn't swum since I was six. Were they kidding? This was a competitive event. I had no idea. I seemed doomed to the most public form of humiliation in an electric-blue bikini.\nThe pool's bleacher sections, filled to capacity with girls in Hawaiian leis and sorority letters from each of the Purdue women's chapters, shook under the weight of stomps from representatives from the mens' fraternities carrying signs and beating pots and pans. I could barely hear the announcement of events over the din of rousing chants and cheers. I looked at my sisters, armed with video cameras and readied to immortalize the event on film. They, too, shook their heads in disbelief. We hadn't seen this many greek groups together since Little 5. \nMy point? Philanthopic activities are regarded very differently by our friends in black and gold than on the IU campus. They're important to the majority of greek students. Students from every chapter sacrificed a beautifully sunny Saturday morning to shake things up for a good cause. \nWith the greek system facing increasing opposition and regulation from an administration many students feel would like to abolish the community altogether, it's time chapters on campus begin banding together. We have at our disposal the men and women of the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association -- let's use them to help us get back on our feet. Let's publicize the positive activities and detract attention from the few mishaps that have seemed to mark the greek system negatively. We're more than a bunch of lawless partiers, and it's time we start showing that to the campus, the administration and the Bloomington community.\nGranted, a few of IU's events are exceedingly popular on campus -- take Zeta Tau Alpha's Big Man on Campus, an initiative that garners support campuswide each fall. Yet we as a community must strive to encourage each other's endeavors, either through direct participation, co-funding or simple physical support at events. If we can't party legally on campus, let's do something positive. We may catch the attention of those who count. And we just might have fun together while we're at it.
(01/31/02 5:47am)
The University is poised to re-examine age restrictions placed on upper-level administrators in light of an agreement signed last week. The agreement between IU and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concerning the University's mandatory retirement practices was signed Jan. 24 and will align IU policy with the Age Discrimination Employment Act.\nThe agreement stems from a complaint filed by Paul Newman, professor of linguistics, more than a year ago, in which he claimed IU violated federal law by requiring administrators to retire based on age. \nThe ADEA protects employees from firing or mandatory retirement practices based on age. IU policy, however, permits the mandatory retirement of administrators -- including "bona fide executives" and "high policymakers" -- at age 65. The policy can be waived by the president on a temporary, yearly basis. \nThe agreement was signed by Newman, representatives of the University and the district director of the EEOC.\nNewman planned a public signing ceremony for that date but said IU officials declined his invitation. \n"I decided to just go ahead and sign the agreement and mail it back to the EEOC," he said.\nThe agreement allows Newman or the EEOC to pursue additional legal action should the University fail to comply with ADEA requirements. The agreement also requires IU to apply mandatory retirement policy "only to those individuals qualified as executives and high policy makers."\nSharon Groeger, associate University counsel in charge of the case, said the document was signed in mid-December by University officials and sent immediately back to the EEOC.\nUniversity counsel Dorothy Frapwell told the IDS earlier this month the EEOC resolution would not kill the retirement policy altogether. Rather, the University would rewrite the policy.\nGroeger said the exact changes in the policy have not yet been determined. She said possible changes include imposing a cap on the number of positions to which mandatory retirement policies apply.\n"A conciliation agreement has been entered," Groeger said. "In it, we agree to revise the policy, but itdoesn't say specifically how we need to change it. We need to make sure it complies with the ADEA -- that we only require retirement for bona fide executives and high policy-making positions. We can't speak for how the policy will be changed. That's up to President Brand"
(12/10/01 4:53am)
September\nSept. 10: Former IU Alumni Association president Jerry Tardy died following a long battle with cancer. Known as "Uncle Jerry," Tardy served as president of the IU Varsity Club and the IU Foundation. A 1962 IU graduate, Tardy began working for the University in 1968 and helped raise $5.2 million to construct the Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center. He also helped sign a contract with 20th Century Fox studios for the movie "Breaking Away," based on the annual Little 500 race.\nSept. 10: Regarding the one-year \nanniversary of the Bob Knight firing, IU President Myles Brand says "The University has moved on, I've moved on."\nSept. 11: In the most devastating attack on U.S. soil to date, terrorists toppled two of the World Trade Center's five towers in the heart of downtown Manhattan; caused substantial damage on the Pentagon in Washington; and took down a plane in Pennsylvania. \nSept. 25: 38-year-old NBA legend Michael Jordan announced his intent to return to professional basketball with the Washington Wizards. \nOctober\nOct. 1: Four unregistered solicitors were banned from campus after illegally soliciting student information through fake credit card applications. The IU Police Department was dispatched to the Indiana Memorial Union after students reported the solicitors. \nOct. 2: The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a $345 spending bill that would raise military salaries and increase federal spending for President George W. Bush's missile defense program. \nOct. 4: Dean of Students Richard McKaig formally expelled Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity from campus after a sophomore pledge was hospitalized with a blood-alcohol level four times the legal limit, making the chapter the fifth expelled within the last 18 months. The chapter unsuccessfully appealed the board's unanimous two-year expulsion to the greek judicial board, and members of the chapter were forced to move out of the house at 1012 E. Third St. \nOct. 4: Men's soccer coach Jerry Yeagley gains 500th career victory.\nOct. 7: The U.S. and Britain launched the first in a series of missile attacks against Osama bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan under campaign "Enduring Freedom." Bin Laden responded with a videotaped statement calling United States officials "full of fear."\nOct. 8: Voicing protest to U.S. bombings of Afghanistan, a group of self-described "peace campers" created a tent city in Dunn Meadow, a section of campus designated for expression of free speech. Maintained by members of Students for a Nonviolent Solution, the tent city is still intact. \nOct. 9: Alpha Omicron Pi sorority canceled all planned events for Homecoming one week after a chapter member reported an alleged rape at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house. There were no witnesses to the incident. \nOct. 10: Former Ohio State University Provost Sharon Brehm was formally installed as Chancellor of the Bloomington campus in a ceremony at the IU Auditorium. \nOct. 12: About $1,300 was stolen from the IU Student Association offices. The money was \ndesignated for the Red Cross and other relief charities.\nOct. 15: The threat of anthrax exploded on a national scale as letters sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and an ABC News employee were reported to contain amounts of the hazardous substance. \nOct. 16: A national scare spread to campus as \nhazardous materials teams responded to three reports of anthrax exposure in Wright and Foster Quads. All three substances proved harmless. The federal government \ncontinued to warn Americans of the seriousness of the possibility of \nepidemic, claiming those who fake anthrax scares will face federal \nprosecution.\nOct. 17: The Genocide Awareness Project displays posters and pamphlets inside the Sample Gates.\nOct. 18: President George W. Bush nominates IU board of trustees president James T. Morris to serve as ambassador to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Rome.\nOct. 23: IU trustee John Walda accepts post as new executive director of federal relations for the University. IU President Myles Brand created the new position.\nOct. 25: A Bloomington man faces charges of attempted murder after two sherrif's deputies were shot in a shootout.\nOct. 26: IU Dance Marathon raises more than $400,000 for Riley Hospital for Children. The 36-hour fundraiser took place in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building.\nOct. 26: $2,300 from student basketball season ticket funds were stolen from the IU Athletic ticket office.\nOct. 30: After two unsuccessful attempts by the Eigenmann Resident Association to merge with the Residence Halls Association, Eigenmann Hall residents passed a 183-42 referendum allowing the historically self-governing living unit to merge with RHA. \nNovember\nNov. 4: After only four years in professional baseball, the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the New York Yankees to win the World Series.\nNov. 7: President George W. Bush issued a national freeze on Afghan terrorist Osama bin Laden's financial networks in the first large-scale crackdown on Americans suspected of aiding terrorist efforts. \nNov. 8: The family of Seth Korona, an IU freshman killed following head injuries sustained at a Jan. 27 party at Theta Chi fraternity, announced plans to sue the fraternity's international headquarters, the local chapter and Bloomington Hospital. Korona died Feb. 4 of bleeding to the brain resulting from a skull fracture. The suit was filed in an Indianapolis federal district court Nov. 9. \nNov 8: The Indianapolis Star loses a lawsuit requesting \npublic disclosure of records relating to the investigation \nsurrounding former men's basketball coach Bob Knight. Appeals were anticipated.\nNov. 9: Men's soccer team members are honored with several awards. Coach Jerry Yeagley, coach of the year; Pat Noonan, player of the year; and Mike Ambersley, freshman of the year.\nNov. 11: The men's soccer team emerged the victor in the 11th Big Ten Championship in Madison, Wis., earning Coach Jerry Yeagley his team's ninth Big Ten title. IU (14-3-1) defeated No. 5 seed Michigan and No. 3 seed Michigan State in the tournament's final round.\nNov. 12: American Airlines 587 crashed in residential Queens, N.Y., three minutes following takeoff, killing all 260 passengers and crew on board. The National Transportation Safety Board credits mechanical failure with the plane's demise.\nNov. 13: President George W. Bush signs an order allowing the federal government to use a special military tribunal to indict accused terrorists more quickly and secretly. \nNov. 15: Gov. Frank O'Bannon proposes a state budget that would cut $55 million from IU's share of state subsidies. Indiana Higher Education Commissioner Stan Jones claimed large-scale tuition hikes, program cuts and \nlayoffs will likely result from the proposed plan.\nNov. 16: Former presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole speaks to students at the IU Auditorium. Her speech centers around the tragedies of Sept. 11.\nNov. 16: Former IU vice president for public affairs and government relations Christopher Simpson was revealed to be receiving at least $10,000 a month for acting on consulting basis to the University. Cited as a "transition issue" by IU board of trustees vice president Frederick Eichhorn, Simpson's contract enabled him to be employed by IU during the period in which Bill Stephan took over his position.\nNov. 24: The football team defeated rival Purdue 13-7 at home, claiming the Old Oaken Bucket in front of 36,685 fans at Memorial Stadium. Senior quarterback Antwaan Randle El passed former Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning in total yards.\nNov. 25: Boston-based Advanced Cell Technology announced the first cloning of human cells. The claim, which President George W. Bush deemed "morally wrong," sparked considerable controversy between liberal and conservative factions on Capitol Hill. \nNov. 27: Bloomington Sgt. Russell Brummett was suspended for 60 days by Sheriff Steven Sharp for his participation and assistance in an alleged domestic assault.\nNov. 29: Senior quarterback Antwaan Randle El announced as nation's first-team All-American quarterback by the Football Writers Association of America.\nNov. 28: University administrators announced plans to curb underage drinking on campus by imposing new restrictions on tailgating at athletic events. \nNov. 29: IU President Myles Brand announces the Unviersity will face "painful, real" budget cuts as a result of state budget cuts.\nNov. 27: The IU pom and crimson squads are told they have less than a week to raise about $17,000 to cover costs for a trip to a national cheer and dance competition in Orlando, Fla. IU Athletics director Michael McNeely claimed the team "blewe through" its budget. The team raised most of the $17,000 and planned to attend the competition.\nDecember \nDec. 2: Seven days after a suicide bombing aboard a bus in Haifa, Israel, left 15 dead, a similar terrorist attack in the same city left 29 wounded at a bus stop. \nDec. 2: Vice President of Administration Terry Clapacs says nine or 10 IU Physical Plant employees could lose their jobs.\nDec. 4: In a proposal supported by Athletics Director Michael McNeely and basketball coach Mike Davis, the Bloomington Faculty Council endorsed a resolution placing greater emphasis on IU academics and less on athletics.\nDec. 5: Athletics Director Michael McNeely announced the firing of football coach Cam Cameron. Cameron was fired after a five year stint at IU, having led the Hoosiers to an 18-37 record during his tenure. \nDec. 7: Former men's basketball coach Bob Knight decides to hold his lawsuit against IU until the end of the basketball season.\nDec. 7: An employee of a Goshen, Ind., plant went on a shooting rampage, killing one co-worker and wounding six others before killing himself. \nDec. 9: For the fifth consecutive year, the men's soccer team earns a trip to the College Cup. \nDec. 9: In an attempt to flush out terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, American warplanes began an intense air campaign in eastern Afghanistan.
(11/29/01 5:00am)
Cheap eats, an eclectic mix of stores and close proximity to campus brands the Kirkwood Avenue shopping district as the best place in Bloomington to blow a paycheck. Boasting three bars, a variety of ethnic and American restaurants and stores ranging from trendy to classic to over-the-top, Kirkwood offers food, shopping and entertainment mere seconds away from campus.\nDanny Cheshire, a sales associate at Urban Outfitters, says most clothing stores on Kirkwood do the bulk of their business during the evening and weekend hours. Though Cheshire admits most people end up spending upwards of $100, a majority of shoppers discover funky finds on Urban's clearance racks. And, he claims, the location can't be beat.\nHaving already discovered this sale rack, junior Margaux Childers agrees.\n"When I shop I come to Kirkwood," says Childers, who lives close to campus. "I don't go to the mall -- it's easier to just walk. I think that's the case for a lot of people."\nKirkwood's prime location, in fact, was one of the key factors motivating locally-based sportswear store Steve and Barry's to move from its former Indiana Avenue building.\nSteve and Barry's sales associate Kris Rollins, a sophomore, says much of their business is generated through the influx of parents and alumni for athletic events and specially-planned weekend events on campus.\nIt's Rollins first year working at Steve and Barry's, but he claims he never even went into the store's previous location.\n"There's a definite advantage from being located so close to Nick's (English Hut)," Rollins says. "And our items are constantly on sale -- the whole year long, it's buy one get three free."\nInexpensive gifts can also be found at Greetings. Though Greetings operates another store at The Shoppes on College Mall Road, the Kirkwood location caters to a distinctly more "hip" crowd, sales associate Lisa Simmons says.\n"All our efforts focus on the exact crowd we know comes down to Kirkwood," Simmons says. "Our T-shirts are huge; those draw people in. But it's also those miscellaneous small things -- those little knickknacks -- that get people to come in"
(11/28/01 5:54am)
As the football season draws to a close, IU administrators are considering following the lead of other Indiana colleges by imposing tighter regulations on tailgating activities at athletic events.\nWorking in conjunction with the IU Police Department, campus officials might implement new policies to deter underage drinking at tailgate events. The efforts include designating alcohol-free zones in Memorial Stadium's red lots and boosting the cost of tailgate parking to increase police patrols in those areas, said Dean of Students Richard McKaig. Similar measures have already taken effect at Purdue and Ball State universities.\nIU is considered a "dry campus" with only a few exceptions for students over 21.\nAlthough McKaig admits the success of IU's proposals can only be determined through implementation, he said he feels the policies' main intent lies in providing an alternative to alcohol consumption.\nThe recommendations were originally presented to various University departments last year. The next step, McKaig said, is to form small groups within departments to begin discussing implementation strategies.\nMost arrests made at tailgating functions are on counts of public intoxication and illegal consumption, IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. Several other charges, including vandalism and assault, usually arise as well.\nIn addition, IUPD has come to expect complaints from residents living close to Memorial Stadium about noise, public urination, litter and, on some occasions, intoxicated revelers passed out in front lawns.\nSimilar complaints by disgruntled Muncie residents have led to tightened control of tailgating activity on the Ball State campus, BSU Dean of Students Randy Hyman said.\nTailgating at Ball State became a problem in the past four to five years, when the university's athletic department began encouraging fans to tailgate to increase attendance at home football games, said BSUPD Sgt. Gene Burton.\nThe Ball State regulations focus on emphasizing tailgating in a "traditional format," Hyman said. \n"Tailgating historically has been about a picnic linked to an event -- in this case, a football game," Hyman said. "We don't have a long and rich history of tailgating at Ball State, but it's a fun thing to do if it's done right. It's not intended to be high risk, high liability activity. "\nWhile Ball State has not completely outlawed tailgating, other measures, such as a ban of kegs on university property, designation of special drinking areas and increased law enforcement have been taken to step-up regulation at athletic events. BSU police officials made 66 arrests last year on campus in violation of state liquor laws, according to Ball State Police. An additional 155 arrests were made in non-campus buildings. \nBut Burton said he hasn't seen a decrease in the number of arrests for illegal consumption at Ball State since the University imposed tailgating restrictions. In fact, that number increased. \n"There was, yes, a decrease in the number of public intoxication arrests, but I saw no link at all between minor consumption arrests and the tailgating policies," Burton said. "I think it's because of the more stringent enforcement of underage drinking." \nBut Hyman said there has been "no significant increase" in the number of alcohol-related arrests.\n"The number off arrests hasn't increased," he said. "I think it's because we were fairly clear on the front end on how the policies would be implemented."\nWhile last year was a "pretty bad year" for arrests at athletic events at IU, Minger said the number of arrests has decreased somewhat this year. He attributes the change to the reorganization of law enforcement personnel following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Because of the possibility of explosive or air attacks, IUPD reallocated many of their patrolmen to the north side of 17th Street and within Memorial Stadium.\n"Doing that left the south side of 17th Street and the red lots, where typically most arrests take place, with too few officers," Minger said. "It's simply a matter of not having enough personnel to cover a given area."\nMinger estimates 100 law enforcement personnel are usually present at IU athletic events, a combined force including officers from the Monroe County Sheriff's Auxiliary, the Bloomington Police Department, the Indiana State Police Department and IUPD.\nBut the reallocation of personnel has taken its toll on the department. Patrolmen simply "get spread too thin," Minger said. \nLast year, mounted officers on horseback were called in from IUPUI to help supervise crowd control. \n"The amount of officers isn't inadequate," Minger said. "I just think that if everyone determined specific areas of focus, we could come up with good solutions to address the problem of underage drinking at games."\nIU's current proposal involved increasing parking fees to $1 per car to finance increased police support.\nOne of Ball State's most effective policies, Burton said, involved closing down tailgate areas approximately 15 minutes after the start of athletic events. Dubbed the "tailgate sweep," the effort relied upon voluntary compliance from fans to evacuate the areas.\nWhile IU officials have thus far cited no plans to evacuate tailgate areas, alcohol-free zones will be enforced. McKaig said past enforcement efforts have typically centered around state law, rather than IU's dry campus mandates. Delegating alcohol-free zones will facilitate better enforcement, University officials said.\nMinger said the policies will "indirectly" address this issue. \n"The student code of ethics and University policy follow fairly closely to what state law is anyway," Minger said. "Under those codes, you can't engage in illegal activity, and drinking while you're under 21 is obviously illegal."\nMinger said the University proposals are a positive first step to curbing underage drinking at tailgates.\n"Based on what the chancellor has said, we're very optimistic," Minger said. "We feel these steps will provide the input needed to reach collaborative solutions and to give better enforcement to both sides (of 17th Street)."\nMcKaig will meet with Ball State administrators in December to discuss the success of implementation on the Muncie campus. \nSenior Adam Springer said he's been tailgating since his freshman year and hasn't seen the parties change significantly in that time. He questions the University's proposals, claiming they "just won't work. \n"I've never really seen tailgating get out of hand," Springer said. "The only thing the new policies will do is draw students away from athletic events, and you'll just have a bunch of old guys sitting around reminiscing about how they used to be able to drink at tailgates."\nSophomore Greg Dietz agreed.\n"Tailgating is a college tradition at IU," Dietz said. "Without it, our celebration and display of pride will be limited to the confines of Memorial Stadium"
(11/08/01 5:22am)
As officials at The Indianapolis Star formulate a response to Monday's court ruling that IU does not have to release documents related to the firing of former basketball coach Bob Knight, the judge who ruled in favor of the University expects an appeal. \nMorgan County Special Judge Jane Spencer Craney would not comment on her written opinion Wednesday because of the likelihood of its review.\nStar Executive Editor Terry Eberle is consulting with the paper's lawyer, Kevin Betz, as to its next move.\n"We are carefully looking at what the judge said in her ruling, but we have not as of yet made a decision on our next course of action," Eberle said.\nThe Star has petitioned IU since May 2000 for public disclosure of records relating to the investigation surrounding Knight's termination. In Craney's decision granting IU summary judgment, she asserted that while state code requires results of a "final personnel disciplinary action" to be publicly announced, the investigation process is not legally bound for disclosure.\nCraney's ruling Monday contradicts an April 1994 decision by Clay Circuit Court Judge Ernest Yelton in which Yelton, a special judge, forced the Vigo County School Corporation to release all the personnel files of a reassigned employee.\nThe issue, Yelton said, stemmed from Linda Lidster's reassignment within Honey Creek Junior High School, Terre Haute, Ind. Lidster was removed as principal after an investigation into various allegations received by Superintendent Charles Clark in December of 1992. She was reassigned as a school counselor in April 1993 after negotiations.\nCitizens later sued the school corporation saying the reassignment was the result of a disciplinary action, and therefore public record. \nYelton agreed.\n"… If the files contain information concerning disciplinary actions in which final action has been taken and resulted in the employee being disciplined," Yelton wrote in his opinion, "then, release is mandatory upon request."\nBecause of the nature of Lidster's reassignment, all public records surrounding the situation, including the investigation, should be publicized, Yelton said.\n"My ruling was, as the law existed then, that once a government entity actually disciplines an individual, the records surrounding the disciplinary action were public records," Yelton said. "I had ruled that Miss Lidster was disciplined and therefore her records should be public."\nYelton said he knew of the case involving The Indianapolis Star but would not comment on it. \nBecause Yelton's opinion is unofficial, it did not bind Craney's decision Monday, Craney said. \n"Unless it comes from the Indiana Court of Appeals or the Indiana State Supreme Court, it is not an official opinion of the court," Craney said.\nCraney would not speak about the case because she expects the decision to be appealed.\nIU trustees John Walda and Fred Eichhorn conducted the May 2000 investigation and released their findings in summary form, but the University has refused access to notes pertaining to the investigation.\nThe Star sought public disclosure of two categories of records: the first concerning the "Reed Investigatory Documents" stemming from allegations made by former men's basketball player Neil Reed and the other created in response to an IU Police Department investigation into "alleged criminal conduct" by Knight in September 2000. The first formal request was filed in May 2000.\nAccording to Craney's decision, over the course of the following year The Star made "multiple requests" for documents regarding the former coach. The University responded by releasing more than 40 such materials. Yet actual materials concerning the investigation were still kept under wraps, according to The Star's lawsuit.\nIndiana's Access to Public Records Act favors disclosure of public records upon request and should be "liberally construed in favor of disclosure," per state law.\nThe Star's original complaint claimed "IU waived its APRA exemptions when it publicly disclosed significant portions of the 'investigatory findings' through its dissemination of IU's 'Summary Report of the Trustee Review Regarding Neil Reed Allegations Concerning The Conduct of Coach Bob Knight' and made subsequent public statements about these 'investigatory proceedings.'"\nTo waive ARPA exemptions, Craney held, IU must have either selectively disclosed certain parts of the investigation or disclosed parts of the proceedings to selected parties. Craney's formal opinion asserts that IU was guilty of neither and thus never waived its exemption rights. \nRather, because the Reed Investigatory Documents contain expressions of opinion and have some "speculative materials," they are not subject to public disclosure to protect confidentiality of all parties involved. Citing state law, Craney further asserted IU was allowed "the discretion to disclose or not to disclose" the IU Police Department documents.\nStephen Key, counsel for governmental affairs for the Hoosier State Press Association, said the "logical" way to interpret the statute would be to make all personnel files open to the public. Because Knight's termination constitutes a disciplinary action, Key believes the records surrounding the investigation into his conduct should be kept open.\nUniversity counsel Dorothy Frapwell indicated the University would not respond to a potential appeal until formal motions are filed by the plaintiffs. \nCampus Editor Aaron Sharockman contributed to this story.
(10/25/01 6:25am)
Chance inevitably finds Michelle Branch. \nShe got her first guitar by chance, a castoff gift from an uncle. When he discovered the old remnant lying in a closet, he proffered it to his niece under one condition: a diligent commitment to learning to play. She did -- in 14 days. \nShe credits that same sort of providence with dropping her demo tape in former BMG Music vice president Danny Strick's lap. A family friend and real estate agent in Branch's hometown of Sedona, Ariz. met producer Rick Neigher, Strick's associate, while giving a condominium tour. Only 15 at the time and still without a driver's license, Branch commandeered her neighbor's golf cart and drove to the tour's site. A month later she was producing and distributing an independent album and touring the West Coast with teen pop group Hanson. And a few months after that, Strick begged her to sign with Maverick Records. \nSpeaking on the phone from a tour stop in Las Vegas, a certain adolescent tinge still colors Branch's inflection. After all, the 18-year-old just completed her final year of home-schooling.\nBut her star is rising, evidenced through increased radio airplay of her first hit mainstream single, "Everywhere." She just completed a tour opening for rock and alternative band Lifehouse, and this week, she'll hit the Bluebird with another Maverick Records artist, Jude. There's even an Internet campaign launched to get Branch's videos airtime on MTV's Total Request Live. \nYet as the first whirlwind year of her professional career comes to a close, Branch, the daughter of a restaurant manager and retired plumbing contractor, seems remarkably unaffected. \n"It's definitely surreal, but I've always wanted to do this my whole life," Branch says. "I always imagined being on tour. Once it actually happened, it really didn't surprise that much. It was like normal stuff."\nBut she has come to realize that being on the road isn't quite the lush life she expected as an aspiring songstress playing three-chord rifts on her uncle's castoff six-string. \n"It's not as glam as lot of people think," Branch says. "They don't know how hard it is -- how expensive touring can be. I thought I'd be staying at the nicest hotels, with this huge bus and playing great venues. But it's funny. This is like the 'Holiday Inn tour.'"\nYet life on the road can prove lonely, although Branch's best friend and bandmates accompany her on every leg. Mere days ago, packing her tour bus to round out the Lifehouse tour and prepare for her stint with Jude, Branch broke down in tears. Away from home since January, a yearning for home simply "overwhelmed" her. \n"When you're doing what I'm doing everyone thinks you're so huge, and no one even knows how lonely bus tours can be," Branch says. "You play a show for hundreds of people, but then you go home alone."\nShe conveys that tedious solitude in her favorite single on The Spirit Room with "All You Wanted."\nBut despite her sometimes lonely lifestyle, her enthusiasm for her music is in no way compromised or unrecognized. Her unique blend of pop and rock vocals have earned her rave reviews with industry executives and critics alike. Her edgy blend of acoustically-driven rhythm and melodic descants belie her age; in fact, a few venue operators have denied her show dates because she's too young. And though a few critics still try to confine her music to the teen-pop realm, Branch remains unshaken. \n"I'm definitely a songwriter before a musician," Branch says. "I remember being so excited to learn to play the guitar and locking myself in my room to learn three or four chords."\nAnd although she never intended to be known as the quintessential "girl with a guitar," Branch claims she'd rather adopt that mantra than the pre-packaged bubblegum pop icon status of Britney Spears or Mandy Moore -- with whom, in fact, Entertainment Weekly reviewers have drawn comparisons. \nBranch handles criticism well. She's aware of her talents and her limits; studying voice as a child at local universities, she often contended with peers, teachers and aspiring musicians who told her she "just couldn't make it." They encouraged her to have a backup plan. They told her to finish public school. Yet Branch had an agenda of her own. \nHer music has been classified as typical Top 40 fare, gaining airplay on B97 and other pop and rock stations, but Branch refuses to lock herself into one genre.\n"I'll definitely let whoever pick up pick it up," Branch says. "Music is an opinion, and I want whoever likes it and wants to play it to do that."\nBecause she writes her own material, the course of her album was unchartered -- it "evolved," she says. Collaborating with producer John Shanks, Branch allowed the "songs to become themselves." She doesn't want to stick with one songwriting and producing formula "just because it works." Rather, she says, she wants each song to bring something different to the record. \nThe fan support, she says, speaks for itself.\nSenior Erin Arkin got hooked on Branch's music after a friend loaned her a copy of The Spirit Room. She listened to it once -- straight through -- and then got online and printed out the lyrics for the entire disc.\nFor Arkin, Branch's direct writing style makes every track uniquely interesting.\n"I spent some time reading through the lyrics before listening to the album agai, and I just knew which songs would be my favorite because of what they say," Arkin says. "I can relate to her music because the emotions and feelings that are expressed through the lyrics are so heartfelt."\nBranch's next album is currently in the works. She's again coupled with Shanks, working through the early stages of recording and producing, as well as churning out new original material.\nMany young stars have recently taken a hiatus from the spotlight to attend college, but Branch says that's not her bag.\n"I am not a school person," Branch says. "I was always the girl who got in trouble. I had the worst grades; I was always ditching class to go to the theater and music concerts."\nThe idea of school frustrated her, she claims. That impatience mounted her sophomore year, as teachers and peers encouraged her to stay in school in case songwriting didn't pan out.\n"I didn't want to allow that," Branch says. "That would have been leaving myself room to fail, and I didn't want that to be an option."\nShe ended up leaving her public school, with the consent of her parents, to take correspondence classes through Brigham Young University. She kept the minimum history, math and science courses to graduate and chose classes such as astronomy and business marketing to maintain her interest by day as she worked on securing small venues to headline by night. \nShe credits her parents with much of her success, deeming them a "huge part" of where her career stands today. They even financed her independent first effort.\n"They had options," she maintains. "They could have done anything with me -- told me no, put me on 'The Mickey Mouse Club' or whatever. But instead, they really taught me there's no reason why you can't do what you love for a living."\nShe laughs.\n"And that's where I am. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm still dreaming"
(10/25/01 4:00am)
Chance inevitably finds Michelle Branch. \nShe got her first guitar by chance, a castoff gift from an uncle. When he discovered the old remnant lying in a closet, he proffered it to his niece under one condition: a diligent commitment to learning to play. She did -- in 14 days. \nShe credits that same sort of providence with dropping her demo tape in former BMG Music vice president Danny Strick's lap. A family friend and real estate agent in Branch's hometown of Sedona, Ariz. met producer Rick Neigher, Strick's associate, while giving a condominium tour. Only 15 at the time and still without a driver's license, Branch commandeered her neighbor's golf cart and drove to the tour's site. A month later she was producing and distributing an independent album and touring the West Coast with teen pop group Hanson. And a few months after that, Strick begged her to sign with Maverick Records. \nSpeaking on the phone from a tour stop in Las Vegas, a certain adolescent tinge still colors Branch's inflection. After all, the 18-year-old just completed her final year of home-schooling.\nBut her star is rising, evidenced through increased radio airplay of her first hit mainstream single, "Everywhere." She just completed a tour opening for rock and alternative band Lifehouse, and this week, she'll hit the Bluebird with another Maverick Records artist, Jude. There's even an Internet campaign launched to get Branch's videos airtime on MTV's Total Request Live. \nYet as the first whirlwind year of her professional career comes to a close, Branch, the daughter of a restaurant manager and retired plumbing contractor, seems remarkably unaffected. \n"It's definitely surreal, but I've always wanted to do this my whole life," Branch says. "I always imagined being on tour. Once it actually happened, it really didn't surprise that much. It was like normal stuff."\nBut she has come to realize that being on the road isn't quite the lush life she expected as an aspiring songstress playing three-chord rifts on her uncle's castoff six-string. \n"It's not as glam as lot of people think," Branch says. "They don't know how hard it is -- how expensive touring can be. I thought I'd be staying at the nicest hotels, with this huge bus and playing great venues. But it's funny. This is like the 'Holiday Inn tour.'"\nYet life on the road can prove lonely, although Branch's best friend and bandmates accompany her on every leg. Mere days ago, packing her tour bus to round out the Lifehouse tour and prepare for her stint with Jude, Branch broke down in tears. Away from home since January, a yearning for home simply "overwhelmed" her. \n"When you're doing what I'm doing everyone thinks you're so huge, and no one even knows how lonely bus tours can be," Branch says. "You play a show for hundreds of people, but then you go home alone."\nShe conveys that tedious solitude in her favorite single on The Spirit Room with "All You Wanted."\nBut despite her sometimes lonely lifestyle, her enthusiasm for her music is in no way compromised or unrecognized. Her unique blend of pop and rock vocals have earned her rave reviews with industry executives and critics alike. Her edgy blend of acoustically-driven rhythm and melodic descants belie her age; in fact, a few venue operators have denied her show dates because she's too young. And though a few critics still try to confine her music to the teen-pop realm, Branch remains unshaken. \n"I'm definitely a songwriter before a musician," Branch says. "I remember being so excited to learn to play the guitar and locking myself in my room to learn three or four chords."\nAnd although she never intended to be known as the quintessential "girl with a guitar," Branch claims she'd rather adopt that mantra than the pre-packaged bubblegum pop icon status of Britney Spears or Mandy Moore -- with whom, in fact, Entertainment Weekly reviewers have drawn comparisons. \nBranch handles criticism well. She's aware of her talents and her limits; studying voice as a child at local universities, she often contended with peers, teachers and aspiring musicians who told her she "just couldn't make it." They encouraged her to have a backup plan. They told her to finish public school. Yet Branch had an agenda of her own. \nHer music has been classified as typical Top 40 fare, gaining airplay on B97 and other pop and rock stations, but Branch refuses to lock herself into one genre.\n"I'll definitely let whoever pick up pick it up," Branch says. "Music is an opinion, and I want whoever likes it and wants to play it to do that."\nBecause she writes her own material, the course of her album was unchartered -- it "evolved," she says. Collaborating with producer John Shanks, Branch allowed the "songs to become themselves." She doesn't want to stick with one songwriting and producing formula "just because it works." Rather, she says, she wants each song to bring something different to the record. \nThe fan support, she says, speaks for itself.\nSenior Erin Arkin got hooked on Branch's music after a friend loaned her a copy of The Spirit Room. She listened to it once -- straight through -- and then got online and printed out the lyrics for the entire disc.\nFor Arkin, Branch's direct writing style makes every track uniquely interesting.\n"I spent some time reading through the lyrics before listening to the album agai, and I just knew which songs would be my favorite because of what they say," Arkin says. "I can relate to her music because the emotions and feelings that are expressed through the lyrics are so heartfelt."\nBranch's next album is currently in the works. She's again coupled with Shanks, working through the early stages of recording and producing, as well as churning out new original material.\nMany young stars have recently taken a hiatus from the spotlight to attend college, but Branch says that's not her bag.\n"I am not a school person," Branch says. "I was always the girl who got in trouble. I had the worst grades; I was always ditching class to go to the theater and music concerts."\nThe idea of school frustrated her, she claims. That impatience mounted her sophomore year, as teachers and peers encouraged her to stay in school in case songwriting didn't pan out.\n"I didn't want to allow that," Branch says. "That would have been leaving myself room to fail, and I didn't want that to be an option."\nShe ended up leaving her public school, with the consent of her parents, to take correspondence classes through Brigham Young University. She kept the minimum history, math and science courses to graduate and chose classes such as astronomy and business marketing to maintain her interest by day as she worked on securing small venues to headline by night. \nShe credits her parents with much of her success, deeming them a "huge part" of where her career stands today. They even financed her independent first effort.\n"They had options," she maintains. "They could have done anything with me -- told me no, put me on 'The Mickey Mouse Club' or whatever. But instead, they really taught me there's no reason why you can't do what you love for a living."\nShe laughs.\n"And that's where I am. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm still dreaming"
(10/11/01 4:49am)
Michael McMahon and Luke Hobson spent close to 15 Friday nights last semester fighting.\nThey'd set up their camcorder, take a light reading and duke it out as the film rolled. Between takes, they'd instruct extras on the logistics of starring in a slasher flick. They'd tell them which direction to run, how to scream properly and how to land the perfect right hook.\nAnd even when the IU Police Department intervened, their concern didn't stop the amateur filmmakers from finishing their project, "PICK," a "basic, run-of-the-mill" horror flick that Hobson says no one involved in the project expected to gain any sort of on-campus notoriety.\nHobson, a junior studying telecommunications, and McMahon, a junior studying fine arts, wanted to gain some real hands-on experience working with film and editing. So McMahon brainstormed a bit and turned to high school buddy Joel Finner with a proposition.\n"I had seen some stuff Joel had done in high school, and I realized, 'Man, we've got to do something else,'" McMahon says. "He knew a lot about filmmaking, so he whipped up some ideas and we started working."\nThe group began planning around spring break last year and worked until the end of the school year, sometimes devoting as many as 40 hours a week to production. Actors solicited from the theater department joined the directors on their Friday night marathon sessions in McMahon or Hobson's rooms in Read Center. The first few hours were spent writing and mapping out scenes; following the planning meeting, the group would set out across campus to shoot in the wee hours of Saturday morning. \nThe most common problem? Bloody noses.\n"We had to map out these fighting scenes, and we really didn't know each other that well," Hobson recalls as he casts a sidelong glace at McMahon. "I don't think we realized how weird it would be, hitting each other like that."\nWhen the flick started gaining airtime on WTIU, the guys were a bit taken aback.\n"We really didn't expect anyone to see it but us," Hobson says. "But all of a sudden, it aired on a Friday night and people started calling and randomly e-mailing us about it."\nHe shakes his head.\n"What started out as a good time amongst friends really changed. It was weird."\nThough financial difficulties forced Finner to leave IU, McMahon says he's coming back this fall to start working on their latest endeavor, a yet-unnamed film in the early stages of production.\n"The quality is a lot higher this time around," McMahon says. "We're using a digital camera, and the audio will be better than before."\nAnd while the guys claim the telecommunications department "hasn't been too supportive" and the "crazy looks" they get from passersby while shooting on location on campus "get annoying," they're undaunted.\n"We really do what we could with who and what's around," Hobson says. "The logistics are all us, and a lot of people don't understand. But what we're doing is productive, and we enjoy it."\nIU alumnus Jeremy Putnam claims the style of his work can't really be classified -- "not anything that you would find in a filmmaking book anyway."\nHe begins with the script, which he believes to be the crux of the entire project. He then chooses locations and begins casting, often picking certain parts for selected actors and writing in parts as the script progresses. There's no real rhyme or reason to his shooting sequence, he says he just tries to keep on schedule.\n"I just figure out what the story is really about and try to tell the story as effectively as I can," Putnam says. "I shoot in whatever sequence is most beneficial to time constraints."\nHe deems editing the most difficult stage in the entire process. Putnam works with digital video, allowing him to edit everything on his own computer and cutting costs. Though he plans to work with film on later projects, video -- his current medium of choice -- is cheaper to use. \nPutnam has also has encountered a certain dubiousness from peers and adults when they discover he's into film, yet he meets criticism with an unjaded eye.\n"When I tell people I'm making a film, most are very skeptical," Putnam says. "But once you talk to them and make them understand what you're trying to do, they end up asking for a part."\nMichael White, director of Bloomington Community Access Television Services, has worked with independent films since his junior high days and says technological developments have transformed the genre. \nAs an Indianapolis high school student, White used silent eight millimeter film to record his projects. If he was lucky, he managed to dub sound on the recording somehow to "actually get something playable."\nIn the mid-1970s, super-8 film use became more widespread, allowing filmmakers to utilize magnetic sound tracks. Shortly thereafter, reel-to-reel video exploded onto the scene and a tremendous number of small films began cropping up on the indie movie scene.\nCiting a "frustrating experience" with the IU Telecommunications Department as an impetus for him to enable young filmmakers to affordably produce creative work, White established CATS through the Monroe County Public Library. The program enables students to gain hands-on experience with digital recording and editing equipment free of charge. All that's needed is a library card and proof of residence.\nThroughout his tenure at CATS, White has seen video footage running the gamut from historical documentaries to drama to the same sort of slasher films McMahon and Hobson cut their teeth on. He's seen a series on Wonder Woman and documentaries on college graduates breaking into the real world. And he credits CATS with getting that work off the ground.\n"Students don't realize they can make their own independent films for virtually no fee," White says. "With CATS, they can submit a proposal, wait a few days, and get out there and start working"
(10/11/01 4:00am)
Michael McMahon and Luke Hobson spent close to 15 Friday nights last semester fighting.\nThey'd set up their camcorder, take a light reading and duke it out as the film rolled. Between takes, they'd instruct extras on the logistics of starring in a slasher flick. They'd tell them which direction to run, how to scream properly and how to land the perfect right hook.\nAnd even when the IU Police Department intervened, their concern didn't stop the amateur filmmakers from finishing their project, "PICK," a "basic, run-of-the-mill" horror flick that Hobson says no one involved in the project expected to gain any sort of on-campus notoriety.\nHobson, a junior studying telecommunications, and McMahon, a junior studying fine arts, wanted to gain some real hands-on experience working with film and editing. So McMahon brainstormed a bit and turned to high school buddy Joel Finner with a proposition.\n"I had seen some stuff Joel had done in high school, and I realized, 'Man, we've got to do something else,'" McMahon says. "He knew a lot about filmmaking, so he whipped up some ideas and we started working."\nThe group began planning around spring break last year and worked until the end of the school year, sometimes devoting as many as 40 hours a week to production. Actors solicited from the theater department joined the directors on their Friday night marathon sessions in McMahon or Hobson's rooms in Read Center. The first few hours were spent writing and mapping out scenes; following the planning meeting, the group would set out across campus to shoot in the wee hours of Saturday morning. \nThe most common problem? Bloody noses.\n"We had to map out these fighting scenes, and we really didn't know each other that well," Hobson recalls as he casts a sidelong glace at McMahon. "I don't think we realized how weird it would be, hitting each other like that."\nWhen the flick started gaining airtime on WTIU, the guys were a bit taken aback.\n"We really didn't expect anyone to see it but us," Hobson says. "But all of a sudden, it aired on a Friday night and people started calling and randomly e-mailing us about it."\nHe shakes his head.\n"What started out as a good time amongst friends really changed. It was weird."\nThough financial difficulties forced Finner to leave IU, McMahon says he's coming back this fall to start working on their latest endeavor, a yet-unnamed film in the early stages of production.\n"The quality is a lot higher this time around," McMahon says. "We're using a digital camera, and the audio will be better than before."\nAnd while the guys claim the telecommunications department "hasn't been too supportive" and the "crazy looks" they get from passersby while shooting on location on campus "get annoying," they're undaunted.\n"We really do what we could with who and what's around," Hobson says. "The logistics are all us, and a lot of people don't understand. But what we're doing is productive, and we enjoy it."\nIU alumnus Jeremy Putnam claims the style of his work can't really be classified -- "not anything that you would find in a filmmaking book anyway."\nHe begins with the script, which he believes to be the crux of the entire project. He then chooses locations and begins casting, often picking certain parts for selected actors and writing in parts as the script progresses. There's no real rhyme or reason to his shooting sequence, he says he just tries to keep on schedule.\n"I just figure out what the story is really about and try to tell the story as effectively as I can," Putnam says. "I shoot in whatever sequence is most beneficial to time constraints."\nHe deems editing the most difficult stage in the entire process. Putnam works with digital video, allowing him to edit everything on his own computer and cutting costs. Though he plans to work with film on later projects, video -- his current medium of choice -- is cheaper to use. \nPutnam has also has encountered a certain dubiousness from peers and adults when they discover he's into film, yet he meets criticism with an unjaded eye.\n"When I tell people I'm making a film, most are very skeptical," Putnam says. "But once you talk to them and make them understand what you're trying to do, they end up asking for a part."\nMichael White, director of Bloomington Community Access Television Services, has worked with independent films since his junior high days and says technological developments have transformed the genre. \nAs an Indianapolis high school student, White used silent eight millimeter film to record his projects. If he was lucky, he managed to dub sound on the recording somehow to "actually get something playable."\nIn the mid-1970s, super-8 film use became more widespread, allowing filmmakers to utilize magnetic sound tracks. Shortly thereafter, reel-to-reel video exploded onto the scene and a tremendous number of small films began cropping up on the indie movie scene.\nCiting a "frustrating experience" with the IU Telecommunications Department as an impetus for him to enable young filmmakers to affordably produce creative work, White established CATS through the Monroe County Public Library. The program enables students to gain hands-on experience with digital recording and editing equipment free of charge. All that's needed is a library card and proof of residence.\nThroughout his tenure at CATS, White has seen video footage running the gamut from historical documentaries to drama to the same sort of slasher films McMahon and Hobson cut their teeth on. He's seen a series on Wonder Woman and documentaries on college graduates breaking into the real world. And he credits CATS with getting that work off the ground.\n"Students don't realize they can make their own independent films for virtually no fee," White says. "With CATS, they can submit a proposal, wait a few days, and get out there and start working"
(10/04/01 4:50am)
When singer-songwriter Aaron Persinger was a second-grader, he told the kids on his school bus one morning to "quit all that macho shit and learn to play," a throwback to a John Mellencamp song he'd heard his parents playing.\nIt was the first time the 7-year-old had gotten in trouble -- but it was worth it.\nVisit Persinger in his tiny hometown of Brownstown, Ind., and he'll give you a tour. \nHe'll take you down the main drag and through town, but he won't stop at his favorite diner. \nInstead, he'll continue 10 miles up the road to Seymour, and show you where Mellencamp's "Wild Night" video was shot.\nPersinger will take you inside the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts, which Mellencamp rents to the nonprofit arts organization for $1 per year.\nAnd he'll show you where he studied guitar with several Mellencamp bandmates before retreating to his childhood farm.\nIn fact, as he reflects on his 26 years, he says John Mellencamp has "just always been there."\nThis weekend, Persinger will join other Mellencamp faithfuls to pay tribute to the Seymour native and folk music demigod in the first annual Mellenbash, sponsored by Budweiser, Clarion Music and Farm Aid.\nThe festival is the Bloomington complement to Seymour's Mellenfest. It's usually an annual event, but this year, Mellencamp is touring, throwing a hitch in the routine. \nAnd because Mellencamp performed in Farm Aid last weekend, Mellenfest organizers found it impossible to plan the event. \nEnter local band No Net and organizer Kevin Plummer. Last spring, Plummer was hanging out with Mellencamp keyboardist Moe Z and bassist Toby Myers, who now perform in No Net, at Myers' house outside Nashville, Ind. They started talking about Mellencamp, and the musicians realized the singer's 50th birthday was coming up in October. \nThey wanted to pay tribute to the man that has so directly influenced their music for years, Plummer says, so they decided to put together a "local get together" joining a few Bloomington-area acts for some Mellencamp covers. Soon "some" became 21 in number.\nSeveral bands included in the lineup have recorded at Echo Park Studios in Bloomington, which represents Mellencamp and his band. Some performers have connections to Mellencamp; some have partied with him and a few say they know him well, having played with him for decades on the road.\nBut all recognize he "only turns 50 once in his lifetime," Plummer says. They're prepped to kick back for some informal jam sessions in Bloomington, and each act has chosen a Mellencamp number to cover.\nNashville act The Early Evening has chosen "Rain on the Scarecrow," one of Mellencamp's numbers he played at last weekend's Farm Aid benefit.\nGuitarist/vocalist George Daeger says he "knows all about growing up in a small farming community," and he's surprised another band didn't get to the song first.\n"We just wanted to pick one that meant something to us, not necessarily a radio hit, but good song,"\nDaeger says. "This will be fun to do for us."\nHailing from North Vernon, Ind., Daeger was faced with a barrage of Mellencamp hits "every time I turned on the radio," he says. The Early Evening's music bears much resemblance to the music he listened to as a child -- including the Beatles and Beach Boys albums shelved away in his mother's record collection, and later, Led Zeppelin and the Doors -- but it's the lesser-known tunes that appeal most to him.\nThe band, consisting of Daeger on vocals and acoustic guitar, Dave Daeger on vocals and lead guitar, Matt Sutphin on bass, Patrick Riddle on keyboards and Jonathan Surratt on drums, agrees that Mellencamp was engrained in their childhood, a regular staple on local radio frequencies.\nMellencamp's music "represents the Midwest," Daeger says -- and that's "pretty much what we are."\nDaeger describes the band's style as "rootsy" and "organic" -- strongly reminiscent of Mellencamp's music. They rely heavily on vocals and acoustic instruments and tout Mellencamp's lyrical style as a standard they strive to emulate.\n"His music's got great lyrics," Daeger says. "It shows us if a guy from a small town can just work really hard and go after what he wants, he can succeed."\nInspired by Mellencamp's small-town success story, the band moved to Nashville, Tenn. Daeger's brother Tim currently attends Belmont University in Nashville, so booking usually revolves around his academic schedule, but band members are undaunted.\nThey've slowly built their fan base, and their current studio effort is a far cry from playing on downtown Nashville streetcorners to enlist support. They're currently touring the Midwest and South, drumming up support and bringing their "wild and crazy" live show to intimate venues throughout the region.\nThe night before Mellenbash, The Early Evening will play a Knoxville venue -- but they say they'll be ready.\n"Bloomington will be fun, and anyone that takes time out to listen will enjoy us," he says. "And it'll be good to play so close to John's home."\nOrganizers say Bloomington has needed a Mellencamp event for years. Mellencamp currently owns property on Lake Monroe, a few miles outside town, and has been known to stroll into Nick's English Hut on occasion to strum a few bars on a battered guitar. \n"Every year, Mellenfest is in Seymour," Plummer says. "But just because 'Small Town' is written about Seymour doesn't mean that's where John lives anymore. He pays taxes in Bloomington, and we need to pay tribute to merchants in Bloomington as well."\nThe C4 band, featuring guitar guru Michael Angelo, will play Saturday on the event's main stage. The band, composed of Angelo, Dan Lenegar, Dan Buckley and John Mrozek, began playing in the July 2000 Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisc.\nPerforming as guests of Kenny Wayne Shepherd on the Summerfest main stage, Angelo and Buckley discovered an instant kinship and, enlisting drummer Mrozek to keep the beat, began collaborating on Angelo's new solo CD shortly thereafter.\n"What started out as a project turned into a band," Angelo says, and since that recording, the C4 band has expanded considerably, headlining the House of Blues and the Hard Rock Cafe. \nThey term themselves the "four generals," with each musician putting in equal manpower recording and promoting the act.\nAnd on Saturday, C4 will do what they do best -- perform live. \n"We do not take the audience for granted," Angelo says. "I was performing in the country of Turkey a few years ago and a good friend of mine there told me something that in my opinion was profound -- he said that you build your fan base one fan at a time."\nEvent sponsors are giving away a Tradition Michael Angelo signature series guitar signed by Mellencamp and Angelo. Originally, all proceeds from concert giveaways were designated for Farm Aid, which benefits family farmers in the Midwest, and the Southern Indiana Center of the Arts in Seymour, both favorite charities of Mellencamp. A portion of those funds will now benefit the New York chapter of the American Red Cross to aid disaster relief.
(10/04/01 4:00am)
When singer-songwriter Aaron Persinger was a second-grader, he told the kids on his school bus one morning to "quit all that macho shit and learn to play," a throwback to a John Mellencamp song he'd heard his parents playing.\nIt was the first time the 7-year-old had gotten in trouble -- but it was worth it.\nVisit Persinger in his tiny hometown of Brownstown, Ind., and he'll give you a tour. \nHe'll take you down the main drag and through town, but he won't stop at his favorite diner. \nInstead, he'll continue 10 miles up the road to Seymour, and show you where Mellencamp's "Wild Night" video was shot.\nPersinger will take you inside the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts, which Mellencamp rents to the nonprofit arts organization for $1 per year.\nAnd he'll show you where he studied guitar with several Mellencamp bandmates before retreating to his childhood farm.\nIn fact, as he reflects on his 26 years, he says John Mellencamp has "just always been there."\nThis weekend, Persinger will join other Mellencamp faithfuls to pay tribute to the Seymour native and folk music demigod in the first annual Mellenbash, sponsored by Budweiser, Clarion Music and Farm Aid.\nThe festival is the Bloomington complement to Seymour's Mellenfest. It's usually an annual event, but this year, Mellencamp is touring, throwing a hitch in the routine. \nAnd because Mellencamp performed in Farm Aid last weekend, Mellenfest organizers found it impossible to plan the event. \nEnter local band No Net and organizer Kevin Plummer. Last spring, Plummer was hanging out with Mellencamp keyboardist Moe Z and bassist Toby Myers, who now perform in No Net, at Myers' house outside Nashville, Ind. They started talking about Mellencamp, and the musicians realized the singer's 50th birthday was coming up in October. \nThey wanted to pay tribute to the man that has so directly influenced their music for years, Plummer says, so they decided to put together a "local get together" joining a few Bloomington-area acts for some Mellencamp covers. Soon "some" became 21 in number.\nSeveral bands included in the lineup have recorded at Echo Park Studios in Bloomington, which represents Mellencamp and his band. Some performers have connections to Mellencamp; some have partied with him and a few say they know him well, having played with him for decades on the road.\nBut all recognize he "only turns 50 once in his lifetime," Plummer says. They're prepped to kick back for some informal jam sessions in Bloomington, and each act has chosen a Mellencamp number to cover.\nNashville act The Early Evening has chosen "Rain on the Scarecrow," one of Mellencamp's numbers he played at last weekend's Farm Aid benefit.\nGuitarist/vocalist George Daeger says he "knows all about growing up in a small farming community," and he's surprised another band didn't get to the song first.\n"We just wanted to pick one that meant something to us, not necessarily a radio hit, but good song,"\nDaeger says. "This will be fun to do for us."\nHailing from North Vernon, Ind., Daeger was faced with a barrage of Mellencamp hits "every time I turned on the radio," he says. The Early Evening's music bears much resemblance to the music he listened to as a child -- including the Beatles and Beach Boys albums shelved away in his mother's record collection, and later, Led Zeppelin and the Doors -- but it's the lesser-known tunes that appeal most to him.\nThe band, consisting of Daeger on vocals and acoustic guitar, Dave Daeger on vocals and lead guitar, Matt Sutphin on bass, Patrick Riddle on keyboards and Jonathan Surratt on drums, agrees that Mellencamp was engrained in their childhood, a regular staple on local radio frequencies.\nMellencamp's music "represents the Midwest," Daeger says -- and that's "pretty much what we are."\nDaeger describes the band's style as "rootsy" and "organic" -- strongly reminiscent of Mellencamp's music. They rely heavily on vocals and acoustic instruments and tout Mellencamp's lyrical style as a standard they strive to emulate.\n"His music's got great lyrics," Daeger says. "It shows us if a guy from a small town can just work really hard and go after what he wants, he can succeed."\nInspired by Mellencamp's small-town success story, the band moved to Nashville, Tenn. Daeger's brother Tim currently attends Belmont University in Nashville, so booking usually revolves around his academic schedule, but band members are undaunted.\nThey've slowly built their fan base, and their current studio effort is a far cry from playing on downtown Nashville streetcorners to enlist support. They're currently touring the Midwest and South, drumming up support and bringing their "wild and crazy" live show to intimate venues throughout the region.\nThe night before Mellenbash, The Early Evening will play a Knoxville venue -- but they say they'll be ready.\n"Bloomington will be fun, and anyone that takes time out to listen will enjoy us," he says. "And it'll be good to play so close to John's home."\nOrganizers say Bloomington has needed a Mellencamp event for years. Mellencamp currently owns property on Lake Monroe, a few miles outside town, and has been known to stroll into Nick's English Hut on occasion to strum a few bars on a battered guitar. \n"Every year, Mellenfest is in Seymour," Plummer says. "But just because 'Small Town' is written about Seymour doesn't mean that's where John lives anymore. He pays taxes in Bloomington, and we need to pay tribute to merchants in Bloomington as well."\nThe C4 band, featuring guitar guru Michael Angelo, will play Saturday on the event's main stage. The band, composed of Angelo, Dan Lenegar, Dan Buckley and John Mrozek, began playing in the July 2000 Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisc.\nPerforming as guests of Kenny Wayne Shepherd on the Summerfest main stage, Angelo and Buckley discovered an instant kinship and, enlisting drummer Mrozek to keep the beat, began collaborating on Angelo's new solo CD shortly thereafter.\n"What started out as a project turned into a band," Angelo says, and since that recording, the C4 band has expanded considerably, headlining the House of Blues and the Hard Rock Cafe. \nThey term themselves the "four generals," with each musician putting in equal manpower recording and promoting the act.\nAnd on Saturday, C4 will do what they do best -- perform live. \n"We do not take the audience for granted," Angelo says. "I was performing in the country of Turkey a few years ago and a good friend of mine there told me something that in my opinion was profound -- he said that you build your fan base one fan at a time."\nEvent sponsors are giving away a Tradition Michael Angelo signature series guitar signed by Mellencamp and Angelo. Originally, all proceeds from concert giveaways were designated for Farm Aid, which benefits family farmers in the Midwest, and the Southern Indiana Center of the Arts in Seymour, both favorite charities of Mellencamp. A portion of those funds will now benefit the New York chapter of the American Red Cross to aid disaster relief.
(09/27/01 4:00am)
For many, a stimulating Saturday consists of a trip off campus to Target or Wal-Mart, topped off with dinner at Malibu Grill. \nBut in the seemingly endless bustle of college life, many students overlook the small opportunities for entertainment outside Bloomington -- and many are as little as an hour's drive away.\nIf you're itching to see where the original "rebel without a cause" hung his hat, check out the James Dean Museum in Fairmount, Ind. The residents of the sleepy, rustic town take pride in their hometown hero, and it shows in their meticulous preservation of Dean's personal belongings and memorabilia, housed in an 1890s-era Victorian mansion in downtown Fairmount. \nThe museum is the culmination of more than 25 years spent collecting and cataloguing rare Dean memorabilia. Archivist David Loehr began compiling James Dean relics in 1974. His collection is now the largest in the world.\nThe Adeline Nall Room, dedicated to Dean's high school drama teacher, includes pieces from Dean's film wardrobes, photographs from his adolescence and copies of high school yearbooks. The room features some of Dean's original watercolor artwork.\nThe facility also features a screening room, allowing visitors to glimpse rare footage and screen tests from the early portion of Dean's career.\nLoehr says the museum is committed to preserving the memory of a man who "in the span of three motion pictures, changed the way we saw the world -- and more importantly, ourselves."\nThe museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. \nAnd while you're in Fairmount, stop by Dot's Diner, nestled on 421 First Street near downtown, for what resident Jimmie Recker terms "the best eggs and grits around."\n"We see all kinds of kids stopping through here," Recker says, nibbling a reuben sandwich. "They usually have a university sticker on their back car window, and they're always playing loud music, but we like to see them. Gets kind of boring around here."\nHe motions to his plate of curly fries. \n"But the grub's cheap."\nFor a more formal museum experience, Huntington, Ind. is the home of the Dan Quayle Museum. You've probably never heard of the Dan Quayle Museum. You may even wonder why anyone would commit their life's work to creating and maintaining a gallery devoted to the Indianapolis native who lived in George Sr.'s shadow for four years.\nBut the folks in Huntington take satisfaction in claiming the nation's only vice presidential museum -- and they're open six days a week to prove it.\nThe museum houses two galleries, says Marjorie Hiner, president of the board of directors for the Dan Quayle Commemorative Foundation. The first is dedicated to all vice presidents in U.S. history, containing personal artifacts, political cartoons and newspapers and books from each period in presidential history. The second exhibit is dedicated to Indiana vice presidents and vice presidential nominees. \nTours of the facility can be arranged by calling 219-356-6356 or by e-mail at info@quaylemuseum.org. \nYet if you'd rather relax than learn about former vice presidents, head to the French Lick Resort and Spa for a respite from studying and stress. \nAn hour's drive south from Bloomington (that's only one full-length CD) brings you to French Lick, a former Civil War-era haunt for the wealthy and well-to-do that currently boasts a 470-room hotel, hot springs, two golf courses and a full-service spa. \nThe spa features aromatherapy, exercise classes, facials, massage, pedicures and manicures, mineral baths, seaweed wraps and a full styling salon. \nGroup rates are available by calling 812-936-9822. Reservations can be made online as well at www.frenchlick.com.\nFrench Lick locals also recommend checking out the Wilstem Dude Ranch, located just outside French Lick on US 50 and SR 56, which offers over 30 miles of horseback trails over 1100 acres. \nInviting visitors to "come sit a spell on the front porch and watch the grass grow," the facility features cabin-style overnight accommodations as well as a 10-room main lodge\nOne-hour rides are $15 and 1.5-hour trips are $22 per rider. \nSenior Jordyn Katzman visited the French Lick Spa with her family a few years ago and says it's "not exactly what she expected" for a tiny Midwestern town. A few of her friends have gone as well, she adds, and "absolutely loved it."\nFor Katzman, a trip to the Oliver Winery, followed by a 20-minute drive to the hills of neighboring Brown County, proves a great alternative to longer road trips.\n"It's great to go out to the winery -- it's beautiful out there -- and then go out to Brown County and hike or spelunk," Katzman says.\nFramed by several state parks, the tiny town of Nashville, Ind., lies just 16 miles from Bloomington on Highway 45 East. Boasting "the world's best apple butter," Nashville is home to more than 360 specialty shops and the sort of "down-home" cooking most students don't get hanging around the dorm food-courts.\nWhile finding a parking spot may prove tedious, the view -- especially during the changing of the seasons -- is well worth the headache, according to visitor Charlie Andrews.\nAndrews, a student at the University of Kentucky, visited Nashville last weekend with his girlfriend on his way into Bloomington for the football game. They ended up staying -- and missing kickoff.\n"We spent the day hiking around the national park," Andrews says. "We didn't even know the town existed, but we've spent the entire day here, just walking around and looking at the craft stores. I haven't thought about school or homework all day."\nAngie Carter, a waitress favorite local restaurant Artists Colony, says she expects the town to be "flooded" during the next few weeks.\n"So many IU students come here with friends, family, whatever," she says, balancing a tray of buttered sweet potatoes and pork tenderloin. "And they are amazed. They just didn't know a place like this existed so close to Bloomington."
