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(01/08/08 5:45am)
IU psychology research associate Sherry Shu-Jung Hu was just beginning her graduate work in psychology at Brown University in 2000 when she became frustrated by of an unfruitful laboratory and the stresses of marriage and school.\nReady to quit her graduate work and move back to Taiwan, she went to the office of then-chairman of the psychology department J. Michael Walker. There, she met a man who would change the rest of her life.\nNow, seven years later, she and the rest of the team at the IU’s Walker Lab are coping with the recent death of Walker, a man they affectionately nicknamed “Michael the Don,” a reference to one of his favorite movies, “The Godfather.”\nWalker, an IU psychology professor, died Saturday night of natural causes. \nAfter her meeting with Walker, Hu became a regular in Walker’s lab, where she continued her work under his guidance.\n“He’s like my father in my heart,” Hu said.\nWhile she was still at Brown, Hu had a baby girl, to whom she gave the middle name “Michelle” in honor of Walker.\nHe inspired Hu so much that in 2004, when he was moving his laboratory to IU, she was one of five students that made the trip with him, she said.The Walker Lab is now used by 16 researchers who all found guidance under Walker, who was involved in many different areas in the psychology department as the Gill Chair and Director of the Neuroscience Program.\nRobert de Ruyter, Walker’s colleague on the Gill Board, will remember how Walker approached life each day.\n“He was irreverent,” Ruyter said. “He didn’t take all things too seriously. He had a nice, quirky way of looking at things, especially other people’s self-importance.”\nAssistant Psychology Professor Heather Bradshaw also met Walker at Brown and decided to make the move to IU with him.\nBradshaw said that, scientifically, Walker will be remembered for his innovation and willingness to experiment.\n“(Walker) tried not to do what everyone else was doing and be daring,” she said.\nBradshaw said researchers at IU will make sure Walker’s work is continued.\n“Many of us are committed to finishing things he started with us,” she said. “People want to not let die the research he spent his life doing.”\nHu said Walker was also one of the most generous people she had ever met. It is common for students to attend a scientific conference each year, she said, but Walker would encourage students to attend as many as they wanted, sometimes paying for them out of his own pocket.\nLast January, Hu was working on her dissertation for her doctorate at Brown University. Walker helped her along the way by making sure she was prepared for her presentation.\nHe accompanied her on the plane back to Brown where it all began. To Hu’s surprise, Walker held a banquet in her honor at a luxurious Italian restaurant that night, inviting her friends and colleagues.\n“He sees his students as people,” Hu said. “He sees our value as a person and cares about our lives.”\nBradshaw said she is still in disbelief about Walker’s sudden death.\n“I still haven’t even had a chance to breathe,” Bradshaw said. “I just assumed I was going to have a mentor for my scientific career. Now I don’t. It’s shattering.”
(12/28/07 5:28pm)
INDIANAPOLIS- U.S. Rep. Julia Carson died Saturday following a battle with lung cancer.\nCarson, D-Ind., died at home, said family spokesman Vanessa Summers. She was 69.\nCarson had been away from Washington since she was admitted to an Indianapolis hospital September 21 for about a week. Her office had said at that time that she had deep infection in her leg, near a spot where a vein was removed in January 1997 when she underwent double heart bypass surgery just weeks after she was first elected to Congress.\nCarson announced Nov. 26 that she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and that she would not run next year for a seventh term representing the city of Indianapolis.\nShe had said in a statement that she expected to return to Washington after recuperation, but a doctor then diagnosed her with lung cancer.\n"It had gone into remission years before, but it was back with a terminal vengeance," Carson said in the statement.\nFuneral arrangements were pending.\nCarson also had suffered in recent years from high blood pressure, asthma and diabetes. She missed dozens of House votes in 2004 because of illness and spent the weekend before the 2004 election in the hospital for what she said was a flu shot reaction — but still won re-election by 10 percentage points.\nCarson, who grew up in poverty and attended an all-black Indianapolis high school, became the first black and first woman to represent Indianapolis in Congress when she won her first term in 1996.\nCarson was born to a single mother who worked as a housekeeper. She graduated in 1955 from Crispus Attucks High School, attending the segregated school at the same time as basketball star Oscar Robertson.\nShe began her political career in the 1960s, when then-U.S. Rep. Andy Jacobs Jr. hired the United Auto Workers secretary to work in his office. It was Jacobs who encouraged Carson to run for the Indiana Legislature in 1972 — the first of her more than two dozen victories in local, legislative and congressional elections.\nShe ran for Congress in 1996 when Jacobs decided to retire after three decades in the House.
(11/29/07 3:31am)
In a world where “Desperate Housewives” has swept the airwaves, the IU Department of Theatre and Drama would like to add a little more dirty laundry to the basket. At 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Wells-Metz Theatre, “Jimmy Cory,” written by graduate student playwright Kevin Daly, will make its world debut.\nEast coast factory worker Jimmy Cory, played by junior Winston Fiore, tries his best to clean up the mess his father made years before. Along with with James ‘Flip’ Carrigan, portrayed by doctoral student Chris Hatch, Jimmy’s father scammed the town out of thousands of dollars, leaving Jimmy with all of the debt. Jimmy’s little brother Bobby, played by freshman Kelly Lusk, gets tangled in the web while getting himself into his own deadly mess. \n“There are a lot of surprise turns,” Lusk said. “An average Joe can’t catch a break. The play is definitely about human tragedy, when one tries so hard and doesn’t get the results you want.”\n“Jimmy Cory” is the thesis performance for Daly. He said he spent more than a year writing the play, and then spent more than six months rewriting it.\n“I’m just a student writer, I’ve got a great deal more to learn,” Daly said. “A lot of people other than just me put hard work into the production. This is definitely more than just a world premiere. This is the first production for some actors, first production for the stage manager. They deserve the credit, not me.”\nThe show has about an hour-and-a-half runtime, which is superb for any audience, but especially for a college audience with a short attention span. However, this show is quoted as being “raw and dirty,” meaning it’s intended for a mature audience. Some actors said there are also messages of “forgiveness, hope for a better life,” and “feeling what others feel.” However, Daly had other thoughts about it.\n“I want the audience to get a good story, like a campfire story,” Daly said. “Hopefully they pick up on what’s important. I can’t tell them what that is.”\n “Jimmy Cory” will run at 7:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday and Dec. 4-8 in the Wells-Metz Theatre. There is a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Dec. 8. Tickets are $16 for adults and there is a student and senior discount for the Tuesday through Thursday and the matinee shows. Student rush tickets are available the day of the performance for $10 cash with a valid student ID. Tickets are available at the IU Auditorium Box Office or through Ticketmaster. Visit www.theatre.indiana.edu for more information.
(11/16/07 4:49am)
IU graduate student adviser Gretchen Clearwater will challenge incumbent Democrat Baron Hill for Indiana’s 9th District congressional seat, she announced Thursday.\n“I’m primarily running to end the war in Iraq,” Clearwater said in an interview. “It’s an immoral war, and it’s also impacting the 9th District.”\nClearwater, who ran against Hill for the congressional nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006, said she filed her candidacy to run in September. She will have to defeat Hill in the May 6, 2008, Democratic primary to win the party’s nomination. \nEnding the war in Iraq, she said, is one of the biggest issues of her campaign. According to an issue statement released by Clearwater, she believes Congress needs to send a clear message to President Bush that the American people should decide whether or not the United States should go to war.\nKatie Moreau, a campaign spokeswoman for Hill, said Hill signed a bill Wednesday night, House Resolution 456, which provides funding mostly for withdrawing troops from Iraq. \n“(Hill) is sending a pretty loud and clear message that the direction (of the war) needs to change and our troops need to come home,” Moreau said. \nClearwater said protecting civil liberties and civil rights and ensuring affordable and quality education are also on her campaign to-do list.\nShe said she plans on taking what she learned from her last campaign and using it to get ahead.\n“It takes a lot to run a grassroots campaign,” she said. “We’re going to get more people then we did last time. We’re going to knock on twice as many doors.”\nClearwater, an IU alumna and current adviser for grad students in the IU Department of Biology, said she’s been in politics nearly all of her life. After working with the Communication Workers of America, she co-founded the Indiana Delegation to Israel and Palestine, a fact-finding mission to meet with leaders dedicated to the cause of peace.\nClearwater was alarmed by the 2000 election, she said, so afterwards she decided to co-found the Bloomington chapter of Common Bonds, an organization dedicated to the promotion of democracy through voter registration. She also co-founded the Committee for Preservation of Democracy, an organization that promoted voting rights and election reform. \n“I’ve learned a great deal since the last time I ran,” she said. “Many residents represent the same views as me, and the 9th District is a district worth representing.”\n-City & State editor Kasey Hawrysz contributed to this report.
(11/12/07 5:16am)
Inside the snug southside Wylie Street home, 53-year old Jeffery Powell stretches out on his long gray recliner in its prime spot facing the TV in the corner. After a long day of truck driving, Powell joins his wife, Donna, in their quaint living room to watch the evening news.\nPowell, a native of Bloomington, who served 20 years as a hospital corpsman for U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, retired 15 years ago, but still hopes he might be called to duty.\n“The greatest thing I’d like to do for Veterans Day is to go back on active duty,” Powell said. \nHowever, because Powell can’t return to the military, he plans to spend the holiday with his wife eating a free meal at the Golden Corral. The restaurant honors veterans and current military personnel by giving away a free meal today. \n“At times I think they need to put me in a glass case with a sign that says, ‘In times of war, break glass.’” \nIn 1991, Powell was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy after 20 years of service.\n“After Desert Storm, if you were an E6 (staff sergeant) and you had your 20 years, you had to gohome,” he said. \nDonna Powell said her husband “lives for” the military, citing his affinity for talking and reading about the military. \nAfter 15 years of civilian life, Powell said he’s always wanted to return to service. At the age of 17, he had limited choices when he graduated from Bloomington High School, he said. \n“I could either put together Westinghouse refrigerators, RCA TVs or work in the stone quarry,” he said, muting the 6 p.m. Indy Channel news broadcast. While he was in the military, he traveled to 30 different countries and all over the US, he said.\n“There isn’t a place that I couldn’t find on the map,” he said. \nVarious souvenirs from his travels adorn the living room shelves, including a miniature Godzilla from Japan. \nNext to Godzilla, a fuzzy picture of Powell in a uniform standing with his young daughter sits in a gold frame. Even though his now grown-up daughter lives in Pennsylvania, Powell is often reminded of her when looking at a little stuffed rat sitting on the shelves. Originally purple, the rest of the small rat has turned a grayish color with age. \n“My daughter stuck it into my stuff and he’s traveled all over the world,” he smiled. \nApparently the small puff ball has traveled over the equator and survived the hazing that went along with it, earning the title of a true “shellback.”\nSitting down in his recliner after proudly displaying his souvenirs, Powell sits quietly for a minute. \n“I felt like I had a whole lot more control over my life in the military,” he said quietly. “Here, I’m just a mindless worker bee.” \nWhile he’s had 15 years to readjust as a civilian, the transition hasn’t been easy \nfor Powell. \nHe qualified for the GI Bill to pay for school; however, he said that he still couldn’t afford school with a wife and daughter to support. After working at a factory near Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for several years, he returned to Bloomington. He divorced his first wife and bought his parents’ house from his father, who continues to battle cancer.\nDonna Powell, his second wife, said that not too many things in the house have changed. In the corner of the dining room, his mother’s china cabinet still displays the pink rose petal china underneath a layer of dust. \nHowever, a wedding photo now hangs just above Powell’s head as he sits in his recliner. The couple just celebrated their two-year anniversary.\nPowell stirs from his demure trance and recalls an old saying, which he swears is true, as it had been confirmed by several unrelated sources.\nThe saying goes that it takes someone from the Air Force no time to readjust to civilian life, someone from the Army five years and someone from the Navy 20 years, but that someone from the Marines never readjusts, he said. \n“I’m somewhere between 20 and never,” he said.
(11/02/07 7:27pm)
Bloomington mayoral candidates David Sabbagh and Mark Kruzan are both experienced mountain climbers – Sabbagh scaled Kilimanjaro in 2000, while Kruzan has successfully reached the summit of the largest mountain in Wales. In the same vein, both candidates’ campaign platforms for the upcoming Bloomington mayoral election are remarkably similar – expand the economy, decrease unemployment and improve social services – although the means by which they hope to address these issues is somewhat more divergent. \nFor Kruzan, the best – and most economically viable – way to maintain a culturally and intellectually enlightened city such as Bloomington is to nurture it from within, encouraging workforce development and helping local businesses, zoning to prevent urban sprawl and promoting the arts. Though he acknowledges the economic importance of keeping Bloomington up to speed with the rest of the country, he proposes to develop its workforce and overall economy by reviving downtown and, above all, by “keep(ing) Bloomington, Bloomington.” \nSabbagh, on the other hand, aims to improve the quality of life in Bloomington by bringing in outside actors, especially those involved in the information technology industry, and he focuses much less than his opponent on maintaining community character. Education, for him, is key to developing the marketable skills of Bloomington residents, and he proposes mitigating poverty through worker training programs. He cites chronic poverty as one of the most pressing issues needing to be addressed by this city. What’s more, he tends to emphasize the need to improve other social services in tandem. In fact, in one of this election year’s most striking ironies, this Republican’s consistent emphasis at times seems to be more in line with traditional Democratic values than those of his Democratic opponent. Go figure. \nBeyond poverty and unemployment, one of the foremost issues on the table in this election is the question of what role Bloomington should be playing in combatting global warming and ensuring that future generations will be able to enjoy the same clean water and stunning natural scenery that have come to characterize the city for us. While both candidates have proposed ways to do so, Kruzan has a stronger record as an environmentalist, having endorsed the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and adopted smart-growth policies, and he seems to have more of a plan of action than his opponent, who has never really gone beyond stating that the problem exists and needs to be addressed. \nAnd on the touchy subject of town-gown relations, both agree on the importance of fostering a positive link between the \nUniversity and the community at large. “IU is our number-one asset,” Sabbagh said during a September debate, even though he is a Purdue graduate. We view this concession as a fine testament to this candidate’s ability to admit to his past mistakes. \nFinally, not to sound biased or anything, we at the Indiana Daily Student would like to remind our readers that Kruzan is both an IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs alum and a former IDS opinion columnist. \nObviously, he’s got a good head on his shoulders.
(09/02/07 10:55pm)
Last year, the Bloomington Faculty Council finally voted to institute Labor Day as a holiday in the 2008-2009 academic year. Alas, today our classes on the Bloomington campus continue to meet, while our satellite campuses (and Purdue) frolic, presumably in flower-filled fields flowing with rivers of Rolling Rock. \nOK, you’re probably wondering why we’re complaining at all, especially if the schedule is changing next year. Well, just because Labor Day will rightfully become a holiday in 2008 doesn’t eliminate the injustice of our laborious Labor Day at IU. Administration offices will be closed today, as well as those of various other support staff, but professors and grad students will still toil. We’re not trying to suggest that the act of coming into class counts as work for undergraduate students. Can’t we agree, though, that if President Michael McRobbie gets the day off, professors should as well? \nAlso, consider that IU’s Labor Day addition for 2008 only passed the Bloomington Faculty Council by a sliver-thin 23-22 vote. We still have to persuade hearts and minds that losing one day of class in the name of labor solidarity is in the best interests of all. Our calendar already has substantial holes as far as federal and state holidays go. While state employees get Columbus Day, Veterans Day and Labor Day off, IU’s faculty and graduate student instructors will still come to work, as will we students.\nIt’s not that we hate coming to class. If there’s one thing we love, it’s class! (OK, maybe there are other things we love more, but not many.) We’re just asking for a little equality, please. We understand the appeal of having an extra class on Monday to avoid a hole in the schedule, but why should convenience stand in the way of what’s right?\nSamuel Gompers, the famed labor organizer and founder of the American Federation of Labor, said of Labor Day: “All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man’s prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day... is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race or nation.”\nWe’re not nearly as deserving as steel mill workers without a union or seamstresses chained to desks, but as Gompers himself notes, Labor Day is a holiday for all people, a day of rest to memorialize all the days of toil. Doesn’t anyone see the irony in Labor Studies students having to come to class on Labor Day?\nSo, this fine Labor Day, we do not endorse the cutting of class. We wouldn’t encourage such civil disobedience in the case of a cause that has already been won. We just ask that you think about the importance of such a day where all people can gather, liberated for one small day, and talk smack about Purdue and our own administrators as they sit at home and bask in the fruits of our Labor Day.
(08/23/07 3:31am)
[ THE FACTS ] The North American Free Trade Agreement has lasted over a decade now, and its three members – Canada, Mexico, and the United States – began discussing the treaty in Quebec on Monday. Trade between them has jumped 10 percent every year since the treaty’s ratification. The countries have addressed criticisms of NAFTA, including unenforced labor laws and environmental destruction.
(05/14/07 6:07pm)
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The image most people have of Kevin Sterne is harrowing: a photo showing a tourniquet wrapped around his wounded leg as rescue workers rushed him out of Virginia Tech’s Norris Hall.\nBut on Saturday, there was a new image of the 22-year-old former Eagle Scout, jubilant and full of life as he limped across the stage at the university’s Cassell Coliseum using a crutch and displaying a grin to accept his degree in electrical engineering.\nThe crowd rose to its feet and cheered Sterne in one of the most poignant moments of the morning commencement ceremony at the College of Engineering.\nIt was one of several campus ceremonies in which individual colleges and departments handed out diplomas to students, including posthumous degrees to those killed in the April 16 attack at a dormitory and classroom building.\nThe College of Engineering was hit particularly hard, with 11 students and three professors killed in the shooting.\nEngineering Dean Richard Benson was overwhelmed, his voice breaking at times, as he spoke about the slain. \n“Forgive me,” Benson said quietly as he paused to collect himself while commemorating professor Kevin Granata, who was shot in a hallway as he tried to save students during the rampage in which 33 people were killed.\nThe widow of G.V. Loganathan accepted a teaching award in honor of her husband, a man Benson said students fondly regarded as the best professor they ever had, the kindest person they ever met and incredibly wise.\nAnother slain professor, Dr. Liviu Librescu, a Holocaust survivor, was remembered by the dean for his “profound courage” in blocking his classroom door so his students could escape out the windows. He was among those killed by student gunman Seung-Hui Cho, who took his own life.\nProfessors, students, their families and friends wept openly as those attending the political science department’s ceremony were asked to remain silent while a bell chimed for each of their nine slain students as their posthumous degrees were awarded.\nProfessor Edward Weisband said he has vivid memories of each of them in class, “attentive, bright, caring.”\nHe promised their families that their children’s empty seats “shall always remain in any class I teach.” \nAs the overflow crowd rose to honor several of the department’s six injured students who were able to attend, Weisband said, “We take inexpressible joy in your survival.”\nAt an English department ceremony, nearly all of the 135 graduating students and many faculty members stood when asked if they knew someone killed or injured in the shooting spree. The crowd of several hundred rose and applauded loudly as posthumous degrees were awarded to sophomore Ross Abdallah Alameddine and senior Ryan Clark who was one of two students killed in a dormitory before the gunman moved to the classroom building.\nEnglish professor Nikki Giovanni read “We are Virginia Tech,”a poem she penned hours after the rampage that infused a campus convocation with strength the day after the shootings. She was inspired, she said Saturday, by the desire to convey that “what we do is more important than what is done to us.”
(04/27/07 4:00am)
When Yoshito Kawahara was younger, he was forced to live in an internment camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. \nMore than six decades later, Kawahara has made a name for himself as a role model for the Asian community, and for his efforts he will be receiving the second Distinguished Asian/Pacific American Alumni Award, recognizing him for his achievements in the professional world and in his community. \nKawahara, a professor and chair of the Department of Behavior Sciences at San Diego Mesa College and an IU ‘78 graduate school alumnus, will be recognized 7 p.m. Friday at the Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center during an invitation-only dinner acknowledging him, graduating students and student leaders of Asian student clubs. It is being co-sponsored by the Asian Alumni Association, the Asian Culture Center and the Asian Student Union. \nKawahara said he is being recognized because of his membership in the Union of Pan-Asian Communities. This organization sets up agencies that create certificate programs so that workers in San Diego would not be stuck in dead end jobs. \n“We wanted to try to give (employees in the community) a hand up so they would have potential, give them a stepping stone for a better future,” Kawahara said. \nKawahara said he became a member of the Asian American Psychological Center in the late ‘70s and has served as a member since 1991. \n“It is the largest and first professional center for Asian Americans to study and understand people in the communities,” he said. \nEunice Donovan, President of the Asian Alumni Association, said granting the Distinguished Asian/Pacific American Alumni Award gives the Asian Alumni Association an opportunity to recognize the professional achievements of Asian/Pacific graduates. \nShe said this award recognizes graduates for their professional achievements and their contributions to the community. \n“It is exciting because we get to recognize current students, graduating seniors and one alumnus,” she said. \nDonovan said Kawahara was chosen to receive this award because of the challenges he overcame from being forced to live in an internment camp during the ‘40s. \nHe said this experience has shaped his values. \n“I think regardless of how many trials an individual has experienced, this culture is always ready to offer you a second chance to succeed,” Kawahara said. \nKawahara said if it was not for his hard work and dedication, he would have remained in “destitute surroundings” for the rest of his life. \n“In this country, you can always climb higher,” he said.
(04/10/07 4:00am)
After months of researching companies, mailing cover letters and resumes, and honing interviewing skills, the good news arrives: You’ve landed a summer internship. \nLocal career services experts say that’s a crucial first step in developing a relationship with a company. But they remind that the burden of turning the summer job into a great experience is still the student’s.\n“Getting the internship is not the end-all,” says Mark Brostoff, associate director of the Undergraduate Career Services Office at the Kelley School of Business. “You have the internship. Now you should be thinking: What does this company do, and how can I take an advantage of that?” \nCareer officials say setting mutual expectations early – and continuing to talk about them – is often the key to a successful summer. \nJustin Grossman, an assistant director of IU’s Career Development Center, recommends that students set goals with supervisors within the first week of an internship, letting them know what they hope to get out of the experience.“Disclose all intentions” to employers, he said. Let them know if you expect to take summer courses during the internship, want to tour the company’s factories and operations, or plan to take a week off midsummer (a big no-no, Grossman said).\nThe first week is also a good time to learn the power dynamics of the company, something Grossman said shouldn’t be taken lightly. The intern’s supervisor, for instance, might officially be the “boss” in the office, but the real decisions might be made by an assistant down the hall. \nUnderstanding who holds the power can help determine how interns should navigate corporate culture and form relationships, he said. \n“(Interns) need to sit back and observe for a while,” he said. “Sometimes the political structure is not the same as the actual hierarchy.” \nBrostoff said forming meaningful relationships with a variety of people and networking within the companies can help interns who want to turn their summer positions into full-time jobs after they graduate.\nHe recommends that students find a mentor or two beyond the immediate supervisor and says students should try to eat lunch with other employees in the company’s cafeteria or join a company sports team to meet people beyond their own departments. \nJohn McCoy, an IU alumnus and the finance director and treasurer of Eli Lilly and Co.’s Lilly Del Caribe division in Puerto Rico, says interns need to be aggressive in meeting people and should set up informational interviews to learn about the industry.\n“They should treat their internship like it’s a blank check,” said McCoy, who has recruited at IU and supervised about 15 interns over the past 10 to 12 years. “Not enough people, in my opinion, take advantage of the full opportunity.” \nMcCoy said that students shouldn’t expect that supervisors will set up such interviews and that interns often must take initiative. And interns should realize their supervisors are often preoccupied with their own work.\n“Sometimes projects and tasks are ill-defined,” McCoy said, recommending that interns improve the project beyond the initial assignment. “If (interns) just try to stick to that piece of paper they wont maximize their output.” \nStill, internships don’t always pan out as students expect. Grossman, from the Career Development Center, said it’s still crucial for students to try to salvage the experience to show that they can overcome difficult situations. \nBut senior Jessica Haemmerle said sometimes the internship just doesn’t work, no matter how hard you try to correct it. \nHaemmerle, a tourism-convention and event-management major, started a promotions internship with an Indianapolis radio station in January. Haemmerle thought she would learn valuable skills about how to organize large events.\nIt didn’t work out that way.\n“I wasn’t learning anything,” she said. “I would put together CD prize packs, rubber-band a T-shirt and CD together, clean out the prize closet.” \nShe talked with her supervisor but found there was little other work to be done.\n“There’s a point when you have to realize you’re just wasting your time,” she said.
(04/09/07 4:00am)
MONTPELIER, Ind. – Early in his career, the IU alumnus known locally as “the country doctor” regularly made house calls to treat ailing patients.\nToday, nearly a half-century later, his warmth toward patients continues unchanged, although much in the field of medicine has drastically changed. \nThe story of the “country doctor” – Dr. Richard Gene Ingram – began at age 5 when a small-town boy realized he knew how he wanted to spend the rest of his life.\n“We had a family doctor, and I admired him enormously,” Ingram said. “I can’t ever remember wanting to be anything else.” \nIngram attended college to pursue his chosen career. He graduated from the IU School of Medicine in 1957. \nThe year 1957 was especially important for Ingram. He not only graduated from medical school, but also got married. He will celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife Carol on June 15. \nFollowing an internship with Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Ingram began his practice in Montpelier, Ind. He later earned the nickname “the country doctor” when he started making house calls to patients as far as 35 miles away, a practice that he continues today despite being 71 years old. \nIngram said that he has delivered more than 1,000 babies and has treated thousands of patients during the span of his career as a general practitioner. He continues to run his practice, although his daughter and son-in-law, both doctors, see most of the patients.\nOver the course of his career, Ingram has witnessed vast changes in the field of medicine but none greater than what he calls the addition of “third-party” insurance providers.\n“When I started, I was truly an independent,” Ingram said. But now doctors have to hassle with insurance companies including preferred provider organizations, health maintenance organizations and Medicare, he said. \nIngram also works once a week as a “semiretired” doctor at the Blackford Community Hospital in Hartford City, Ind. Coworkers said he can be intimidating at first, but actually has a warm and professional presence. He often sings Ray Charles’ hit song “Georgia on My Mind” to one co-worker named Georgia.\nAway from work, Ingram hunts big game, a hobby that started when he was 10 years old and shot a rabbit in his neighbor’s flower garden. Since that time, he has hunted bear and deer in the western United States, Canada and, on one occasion, South Africa. Several mounted animals and guns now adorn the walls of his living room. Also an avid fisherman, he travels to a lake near Jacksonville, Fla., every February to fish. \nFaith also plays an important role in Ingram’s life.\nDespite being “skeptical” of religion throughout his youth, Ingram became a devout Christian and started a church in his own living room after unsuccessfully finding a satisfactory church with “meat” in the sermons. \nBeginning as a weekly Bible study in his home 36 years ago, the group flourished into the congregation of the Grace Community Church. The church is located along the dead-end lane that leads to Ingram’s home. \nEven with all the positive achievements in Ingram’s life, he has also experienced some obstacles. \nDoctors diagnosed him with cancer twice – bladder cancer five years ago and rectal cancer in February 2006. He underwent radiation treatments and chemotherapy for both cancers and continues to recover from the rectal cancer.\n“They always say that doctors make the worst patients, but I think that I had it easier than most,” Ingram said. “I was more calm because I understood what was going on.” \nIn spite of his age, Ingram hopes to stay active with fishing and hunting trips. But above all, he hopes to continue to treat patients. \n“It’s an opportunity to be with people in times of great crisis,” Ingram said.
(04/04/07 4:00am)
SEATTLE – In the last weeks of her life, Rebecca Griego was taking drastic steps to avoid an ex-boyfriend whose violence and threats had left her visibly shaken.\nShe changed her cell-phone number. She moved. And early last month, Griego sought a restraining order, posting Jonathan Rowan’s picture around her office so co-workers could serve him with the papers if he showed up.\n“He has threatened to hurt me again,” Griego, 26, wrote in court papers on March 6, saying Rowan had warned her “to look over my shoulder because I would see him again.”\nOn Monday, colleagues identified Griego as the victim of an apparent murder-suicide in her University of Washington office. Officials said her assailant was an ex-boyfriend, in his 40s, who was the subject of a restraining order from the young university staffer.\n“She was left helpless and very frustrated because nobody would intervene until something happened,” said Jim DeLisle, Griego’s boss at the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies. “She did everything that a person in her situation could have done, other than leaving town.”\nUniversity Assistant Police Chief Ray Wittmier said officers who responded at about 9:30 a.m. Monday to a call of shots fired found the two people in an office on the fourth floor of Gould Hall, the university’s architecture building.\nWittmier said about six shots were fired, and a handgun was found in the room. There were no eyewitnesses, and no one else was harmed in the shooting, he said.\nLance Nguyen, 28, a student researcher who worked with Griego, said she had become increasingly worried about her former boyfriend in recent weeks. Griego, a University of Washington graduate, worked as the center’s administrator.\n“She freaked out,” Nguyen said. “She said this guy had threatened to harm her and her family.”\nCourt records show Griego was granted a temporary restraining order on March 6 after she said Rowan had threatened her, her sister and the two women’s dogs.\nIn applying for the order, she wrote that on Jan. 5, Rowan threw glass candlestick holders at her in a drunken rage, then tackled and punched her. The two were living together at the time.\n“I forgave him because he was drunk, but now I see that was wrong and he has threatened to hurt me again,” she wrote.\nWhen Griego wrote that in February, Rowan called her and threatened suicide “because he couldn’t see me. I never called him back.”\nThe order required Rowan to stay 500 feet from Griego, her residence, workplace and dog.\nWittmier said he didn’t believe campus police were aware of the restraining order against Rowan. He also said Rowan likely did not have permission to carry a handgun on campus.\nUniversity spokesman Bob Roseth said police files showed Griego had received phone threats against her life from the former boyfriend at least twice at work. But she apparently chose not to press charges against him, Roseth said.\n“In terms of police action, there wasn’t much the police could have done to prevent it,” Roseth said. “Whether there are other things she could have done is a matter of conjecture.”\nStudent Meghan Pinch, 27, was in a first-floor classroom when she heard several loud bangs. She said that she didn’t think they were gunshots at first until she was told to evacuate.\n“No one wanted to really think it was real,” Pinch said.
(03/07/07 5:00am)
Girl Talk is the most familiar music you've never heard of. This one-man electronic band, fronted by Pittsburgh's Greg Gillis, cohesively unifies hooks, riffs and choruses of everything from raunchy rap to rock 'n' roll to Richard Marx. In his third and most recent album, Night Ripper, he samples 167 artists. \nLegally, he and his record label, Illegal Art, have not encountered any problems. Perhaps all his potential lawsuit cases are too busy dancing to his albums.\nAs anyone who was at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater this past Saturday knows, his live performances are truly remarkable. A concert and dance party are formed into one. With his laptop as his instrument, Gillis' performances are a "collaborative effort" between him and the audience. Customarily, he begins to dance by himself, eventually getting the crowd to follow suit. He then brings audience members on stage and they begin doing their own moves alongside him. But at the Buskirk, it was only a matter of seconds before the entire stage was filled. Like his music, his fans constituted a random assortment all brought together. The 25-year-old Case Western graduate wasn't sure of the show's potential Saturday, but throughout his performance, he seemed surprisingly pleased with us Hoosiers.\nAfter many sweaty bodies were on stage and crowd-surfing, the theater security demanded that no audience member was to be on stage. \nBut this didn't stop the party. Gillis shifted to the right edge of the stage, still dancing and connecting to the audience members, whether by acquiring their clothing and accessories, crowd-surfing or posing for pictures. Following the shift, even if his microphone was lost somewhere along the way, he spoke to the reassure the audience. He also frequently asked the people in the crowd how they were doing, making sure everyone was having a good time.\nAfter the show, Gillis returned to his day job in Pittsburgh as a biomedical engineer. He arrived in Bloomington without much knowledge of our little bubble, but by the end of the night, it's as if he was one of us. \nI had the chance to interview Gillis over a medium cheese pizza at Greek's Pizzeria before the event began. We spoke of the nature of his performances, his exponentially growing popularity and Lloyd Banks, among other things.
(02/19/07 5:00am)
As the snow came down Saturday afternoon, a dozen people attended a juggling workshop at the WonderLab Museum of Heath, Science and Technology in Bloomington. The workshop was intended for participants to gain basic juggling skills and learn the physics of juggling.\n“Up in the Air: A Science of Juggling Workshop,” was taught by IU sophomore Isaac Simonelli. The event was part of WonderLab’s “Team Up” traveling exhibit highlighting the science in sports, said Staci Radford-Vincent, event coordinator and programs manager at WonderLab.\nSimonelli demonstrated his techniques by juggling such objects as bowling balls and clubs. Though Simonelli said he has received no formal training, he has been juggling for more than 10 years. He went to Europe right after graduating high school, juggling in street performances in several European countries and even attended the European Juggling Convention, he said.\nBerta Moore, a retired social worker from Bloomington, attended the workshop with her family. She said it was her first time juggling, and she was trying it because she wanted to get her mind working more quickly.\n“Challenging yourself to learn something new is good for you,” she said.\nLaughter filled the room as participants attempted to juggle the balls they made themselves during the workshop. The juggling balls were made by stuffing bird seed inside of balloons so that participants could take them home.\nJackie Duemler, freshman and volunteer at WonderLab, joined in the workshop. Though she is engaged to Simonelli, Duemler said she had never juggled before the workshop.\n“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” she said.\nRadford-Vincent said she had hoped the workshop would appeal to a slightly older demographic than WonderLab is used to seeing, but was happy that a number of children participated and had a good time. \nSimonelli agreed. He stressed that juggling is not just something that can make you physically stronger, but is something people can do together socially.\n“It’s a way to connect with people, and it’s something almost anyone can learn,” he said.
(02/09/07 8:09pm)
Heads nodded and people murmured as professor Peter Guardino explained the deadly risks involved with immigrants crossing the border to the United States.\nStudents, faculty and local citizens poured into the Monroe County Public Library auditorium for discussion at 7 p.m. Wednesday titled "Civil Liberties and Immigration in America."\nThe controversial issue of illegal immigration was discussed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and other speakers and professors from IU.\nMembers of the panel said it is worrisome that, between 1998 and 2004, more than 2,000 people have died trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. \n"It's a national hot issue of the city government, telling people to report people to the police, and students as well as faculty are having troubles with green cards," said Lawrence Friedman, president of the Bloomington chapter of the ACLU and an emeritus IU history professor. "(We're doing this) for people to make contacts with attorneys on the issue and reassure them. It goes beyond debate having these specialists who really know their stuff." \nFriedman spoke of the "waves of anti-immigration and nativism" and the importance of getting rid of the myth of dangerous immigrants. \nIndianapolis immigration and nationality attorney Steven Tuchman gave a basic overview of immigration law and how families cope with moving from one country to another.\n"We are holding our breath to see what Congress and the president will do," Tuchman said. "The legislation is a painful sausage line to watch happen." \nGuardino, a history professor who specializes in Mexican history, began his presentation with the statement "A picture is worth 1,000 words," showing the harsh reality of fortified borders with pictures on an overhead projector.\n"Fortifying borders is not really stopping illegal immigration," Guardino said.\nHe added that Mexicans make up the largest group of undocumented immigrants.\nGuardino also spoke on the problems with employment documents that people seeking jobs must show to their employers, claiming there is no way of knowing whether the document is authentic.\n"All people want to do is come to work and be good and protective people," Guardino said. "For a Bloomington job, they ask you only if you look or sound foreign."\nHe said he favors a type of temporary-worker program but said it would be impossible for Congress to fund. \nOther speakers included Harold Sabbagh of the Arab American Association, who spoke on the problematic effects of national quotas and the controversy with the Arabic language, and ACLU of Indiana Executive Director Claudia Porretti, a recent graduate of the IU School of Law. Porretti spoke on the part the ACLU takes in trying to protect people's rights.\nRussell Hanson, a specialist in American politics and an IU political science professor, concluded the forum by saying that the stance politicians take on immigration could swing people's votes for or against them.\n"The issue will not go away for a long time in the U.S.," Hanson said.
(02/07/07 5:59pm)
Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms seized an Iranian diplomat as he drove through central Baghdad, officials said Tuesday. Iran said it held the U.S. responsible for the diplomat's "safety and life." One Iraqi government official said the Iranian diplomat was detained Sunday by an Iraqi army unit that reports directly to the U.S. military. A military spokesman denied any U.S. troops or Iraqis that report to them were involved.
(01/18/07 2:41am)
Student chant result of paying more for worse seats\n"Stand up, old people." Mildy innappropriate? Yes. Extremely humorous? Yes. Regardless of what you think, this chant draws attention to a big issue: student tickets.\nA large part of the home court advantage, especially in the Big Ten Conference, comes from the student section. Students are loud and in your face, and as they fade farther from the basket year after year, they grow tired of watching the alumni sit behind the basket with their thumbs you know where.\nSure, you give a lot of money. We know. But while you sit quietly 20 feet from the action, I'm 15th row up in the balcony thinking about how other Big Ten teams, like Illinois, are moving more and more students closer to the court. So, yes, I'm chanting at you to stand up and support the team like I am. You took my seats. I'm paying more money than last season for worse seats. Perhaps, instead of calling us rude and classless, the best answer is to make some kind of change. IU needs to give the alumni more seats? OK, but don't put them behind the basket. You say students don't get to the game on time? Maybe the alumni would like to hike that endless flight of stairs up to the nosebleeds. Maybe we're not in any real hurry to run up there and get high-altitude sickness.\nAll joking aside, there's nothing I love more than being at an IU basketball game. In fact, I haven't missed a single tipoff, and I've stayed for all 40 minutes of every home game. If this issue can be resolved, excellent. If not, I'll still be there screaming my head off. Go Hoosiers.\nDon Ueber\nSophomore\nLack of respect evidenced by "Puck Furdue" chant\nAs a loud and proud 1988 graduate of IU I always enjoy my return trips to Bloomington as an alumni. However, the article in the Dec. 12 IDS regarding the student-led chant at the Purdue-IU basketball game is totally missing the point. First, I was sitting in the north bleachers and am grateful as an alumnus to have the opportunity to have such great seats. I know from my days as a student the bleacher seats are a prized location. Do the alumni appreciate this opportunity? Most don't seem to. I thought the student chant was entertaining and fun. The alumni sections are usually about as much fun as attending a funeral, and the student-led chant did actually lead to the folks in the north bleachers standing up and cheering for a change.\nHowever, there are two points that seem to have been totally overlooked that need to be addressed. The first is the trash talking that player Earl Calloway did to Purdue coach Matt Painter. This is not the NBA and that kind of talk is completely unacceptable. Coach Kelvin Sampson should have pulled Calloway off the court so fast his sneakers would still be on the floor. In addition, Calloway should be on the bench for the next couple of games until he can learn to play with a little class and sportsmanship.\nThe second overlooked issue is the chant the student section engaged in during the second half of "Puck Furdue," or "Fuck Purdue." It was hard to tell which was being said, but it was very offensive and embarrassing. This game, while only reaching a limited audience on TV and radio, was broadcast to the nation and I am sure the chant was loud enough to be picked up. How embarrassing for IU. How do you explain to any children in attendance what the students were yelling?\nI hate to bring out the Bob Knight card, but you know that if either the trash talk or chanting had happened during a Bob Knight game, a timeout would have been called and Coach would have addressed the crowd or player at that point. IU used to have some of the loudest fans in the country who displayed some class and sportsmanship. Now they are just loud and obnoxious.\nDavid Bromer\nAlumnus\nPrivatization will harm IU-community relationships\nPrivatization of IU services will inevitably harm Hoosier workers. Big businesses, which could end up running the Bookstore, IU Motor Pool and other services do not have the connections to the Bloomington community or interests in the well-being of employees that IU has established over its nearly 200-year history.\nMany of my co-workers here at IU have spent their entire adult lives working for the University, thus earning higher wages and more benefits than less experienced workers. These longtime employees are likely to lose their jobs when private companies, looking to cut costs wherever possible, take over.\nWorkers could also lose their means of protecting their rights on the job if IU services are outsourced. University workers have the right to join a union that negotiates higher wages and benefits and protects workers from exploitation. When private companies take over, workers are often discouraged from joining unions. This is the case in the IMU, where, unlike other food-service employees at IU, Sodexho employees cannot join the AFSCME Local 832, which represents campus workers.\nThe close ties between IU and Bloomington make schooling at IU unique, rooting our education in the belief that through higher learning we can strengthen our community. This connection also benefits Bloomington, providing not only jobs but a sense of identity and way to have a positive impact on Indiana and the world as a whole.\nIn choosing to end this relationship, IU trustees are neglecting their obligation to students, workers and all of Bloomington. At the expense of the people for whom they are supposed to work, our trustees have chosen to instead focus on profits.\nSolomon Boyce\nSenior\nParking solutions must occur before faculty gets angrier\nThis morning, I noticed that more staff parking on the southwest side of campus had been eliminated -- this time behind the Tri-Delta house. Why are southwest side staff members being inconvenienced again? Our C spots are already full before 8 a.m.\nIf I hadn't already upgraded from a C to an A permit, I would get one now. However, it isn't fair that our already underpaid staff should be expected to shoulder hundreds more in parking fees per year because construction projects were (poorly) planned to coincide.\nSome suggestions for alleviating parking issues for C permit holders:\nFirst, turn some A spots to C spots immediately. Yes, this includes some of the spots behind the Quads, the lots surrounding Hawthorne Avenue, the law-school lot, and even the spots in the Atwater and Ballantine garages.\nSecond, cut some or all of the permits given to the construction crew on the Simon building. They are not IU employees, and the University has a responsibility to its employees first.\nThird, the shuttle from the stadium takes too much time to get to Third Street -- let's get a shuttle route that actually works instead! Start the free shuttle service from Bryan Park to Third Street again, this time for employees. I realize that neighborhood residents will resist as with Bloomington Transit's shuttle, but I bet IU administrators can make them reconsider.\nFinally, as unpopular as this may be, turn some of the non-employee parking spots into staff parking. The School of Optometry visitors' spots could be cut by half. Additionally, as much as I don't want to inconvenience students, we must turn over to staff some of the student spots saved for the southside greek houses and residence halls. Students are able to walk to their classes and work, but staff usually have no option to walk to work or to be without transportation in case of family emergencies.\nThe current situation amounts to a bait-and switch for C permit holders on the southwest side. The administration should initiate some solutions soon, before staff anger reaches a boiling point.\nAnna Bednarski\nDepartment of Biology academic adviser\nMisuse of Adderall dangerous for \nstudent body\nIn response to Nick O'Neill's Jan. 10 article, "A's in a pill":\nStudents taking attention-altering medications like the drug Adderall for the so-called "boost" needed to focus on their schoolwork should instead focus their attention on the warning that Counseling and Psychological Services Director Nancy Stockton delivered regarding the "compromises" involved with the improper usage of Adderall (or any prescribed or over-the-counter medications for that matter).\nWhile it's easy and convenient for a student to pop a real-good-feel-good pill to get through physics class, the consequences of popping any pill without proper knowledge of how that drug may interact with the user's own body chemistry and or with other forms of medication the user may be taking at the time can easily put that user in harm's way. I know: Having taken wrong medications in the past has left me with on-going seizure disorders, which resulted in totaling my car while behind the wheel. \nIn short: medicine is nothing to mess with. \nAs students of higher education, we attend college for a reason: to learn. So for the people illegally selling Adderall and for the people taking Aderall outside of a physician's care, educate yourself on the dangers involved with the drug the next time you feel the need to pill-pop. As for the junior in the article who feels he does "not see any problem" with selling Adderall to his classmates on a regular basis, I have just one question for you: Who died and made you pharmacist?\nBrad Whetstine\nStudent\nText-message words shouldn't be used in academic settings\nDear IDS Readers:\nDid you bat an eyelash at the "word" IDS in the salutation? IDS is unknown to those at Purdue. Perhaps they would scoff at our friendly use of IDS, but who cares? Do IU students care? Oops -- another acronym!\nAcronyms reduce the verbiage in many disciplines. Scientists routinely use acronyms (FRET, NOESY, PEG, COX, etc.) with startling regularity. However, it is because the community understands the need for abbreviations. Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; Nuclear Overhauser Effect Spectroscopy; PolyEthylene Glycol; CycloOXygenase. They are cumbersome strings of words that are conveniently communicated by acronyms (scientists do have a sense of humor!). \nBut professors do not understand acronyms from "text-message-speak" that is gaining in popularity! "Words" like TYD, BYOB, DADV, MLF are meaningless out of context. For example, "DADV" means Duck ADenoVirus, which is not mentioned in my courses -- yet, I receive e-mail and course evaluations containing that "word." I'm sure its "intended" use is unflattering!\nThe advent of "text-message-speak" is a response to technological advances. However, attempting to communicate with professors through such phraseology is unproductive. No communication occurs.\nAs a society, should we accept a decline in the conveyance of thoughts and ideas by using "text-message-speak" in professional settings? Is interpersonal communication trivial? What are possible consequences with this detached form of communication? Imagine negotiations of the Cuban Missile Crisis in text-message format:\nDSBWHTSWACCYA! \nFOBOSIB! \nWhat do the interacting parties mean by such "messages?" Who knows. Therein lays the problem.\nThe proverb "The pen is mightier than the sword" (Edward Bulwer-Lytton) is as true today as it was in the 1800s.\nThe overuse of TXT-MSSG-SPK is eroding interpersonal communication. Communication is the heart of all relationships. Overuse of text-message-speak is constricting the artery of relationships -- thereby delaying the flow of ideas.\nI ask the student body to elevate itself above the superficiality permeating society. Communicate with professors without using text-message-speak. Demonstrate that you are the learned individual that your degree suggests -- this makes it easier for us to write positive letters of recommendation!\nDavid C. Johnson II, Ph.D.\nDepartment of Chemistry\nAlumni should want to show up students with cheers\nHow I feel about Purdue is how I feel about my 17-year-old brother: pure, heated rivalry. Normally we get along well but when it comes to any sort of competition, game on. This being my first season attending games at Assembly Hall, I was stoked for the Purdue game. I've been to all other games and the energy in there is so overwhelming that I don't know how you couldn't have a good time. Wednesday night (Jan. 10), I was sitting in the front row of the balcony with a friend, and once again we heard a chant come from behind the basket, buried in the "student section." Usually it takes me a minute to understand what they're chanting, but this one was loud and clear: "Stand up, old people."\nI understand some people are offended by this, and yeah, the chant might have been rude, but it's proving a valuable point. If you are paying to sit in a seat behind a basket, by God, if you're really an IU fan, stand up and distract the opposing team! If you don't feel like doing that, I am more than happy to switch you seats so you can be in the balcony, sitting there enjoying the game quietly, while I'm behind the basket waving my arms and yelling until my head falls off. Get into the game, enjoy it for what it's worth because it may be your last game. And I'm sure there's people out there that will say something like "I'm too old to do that," which is sad if you think that way. This is your school, your team and according to your age, it's against nature to defy the age threshold and show us "young people" up? Personally, I'd like alumni and older fans to stand up and make students go "Crap, they're louder than us -- time to blow the voice box out!" I want to leave Alumni Hall without a voice, and the "older people" should try harder to do the same. Scream, yell, clap and most of all, stand up for your team.\nShannon Beaty\nSophomore\nStudent section needed to quell bad sentiment\nThis is in response to the student chanting and complaints that have been made following the Purdue game.\nWe students feel as though the focus of home basketball games should be about us. I mean, let's face it, we are the ones who make Assembly Hall one of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten. We do not have a designated student section and seem to be one of few schools that does not. When watching college basketball, it is easy to see the impact that students have on a game. For example, look at the Cameron Crazies (Duke) or the Izzone (Michigan State). These student sections are right on the court and it gives their home team a tremendous advantage. We IU students are very passionate about our basketball team and excited about what coach Sampson has brought to Indiana. We only want to help our team win, and we feel that if we had a student section, Assembly Hall would be the toughest place to play in the Big Ten.\nSecondly, we students feel betrayed by our administrators, because it is obviously all about money (which seems to be a big theme at this university), giving more seats to the donors and alumni and not about future donors and future alumni. Fewer seats, worse seats and more money? I might not be good at math, but things are not adding up to me. So to the alumni who are upset about the chanting at the game, you can only expect more of this in the future, because we are passionate and want to give our team a home-court advantage. This can not be done by sitting down the entire game. So if you want to "watch" an IU game, stay at home and "watch" it on television. But if you really want to support your team then give them the home-court advantage they deserve. Come, stand, yell, cheer and be passionate about IU basketball.\nAdam Allen\nSenior\nLet students be Hoosiers fans while they are enrolled\nResponse to "Student-led chant draws criticism" by Eamonn Brennan, Jan. 12:\nI have friends talking about how much they love going to their basketball games, sitting in Rick's Rowdies (Mississippi State) or in Cameron Crazies (Duke). What's my comeback? "Oh yeah, I sit in the top corner of Assembly Hall for our rivalry game." That's right, I sat up in Section GG, Row 15, Seat 107 -- the upper corner. For four years now, I have sat in the balcony for all of the IU-Purdue games. This is the first year that I actually have floor seats for a Big Ten game (Michigan).\nHow much does this suck? USA Today described Cameron Indoor as "the toughest road game in the nation." Why is that? It's the students that create the crazy atmosphere. The students here at IU try to get that crazy but can barely start anything because we are so spread out. As I watch any NBA or any other NCAA game, the people behind the baskets are the craziest. When an opponent is shooting free throws, they yell and wave their arms, bang sticks or whatever they can find to distract the shooter. What do I see at Assembly Hall? I see alumni (now known as "old people," which is technically correct since they are older than the students) sitting there silent as a mouse. At the other end, the students wave their arms and yell even though the shooter is completely unaware. Students should be getting better seats than the balcony for most of the games. Television cameras want to see the students going crazy for their team, not people being silent during the game. I'm sorry, alumni, but the students that are currently enrolled at IU should be in those seats. You've had your time at IU, please let us have our time. For some of us, we won't be back in Indiana to see the Hoosiers play once we graduate. Let us have the glory of being a Hoosiers fan while we are still here. And if you ain't down with that, I've got two words for you.\nJames Michael Davis III\nSenior\nSampson should use influence to get student seats back\nThe recent publication of the front-page article "Student-led chant draws criticism" (Jan. 12), regarding the "Stand up, old people" chant, made an entire campus aware of an issue that has the potential to plague the Hoosiers' home court for the remainder of the season and future seasons.\nAs a student who owns tickets and is an avid fan, I hope and will do my best to make sure that the chant happens again -- until they get up and act like the Hoosiers they dress as. This is a serious issue. I would like to quote a recent ESPN.com article where analysts picked their favorite college basketball environments. To no surprise, IU was selected as the Big 10 representative by two of seven analysts. Pat Forde had an especially enlightening comment regarding our arena: "Another place with great old-school feel -- and until they moved the students out from behind the north goal this season, it got as loud as anywhere when the home team was on a roll."\nThe decision to remove students from the north end is reaching beyond just our campus; it is affecting the reputation of many peoples' pride and joy. I was behind the north goal last year when we played Duke and I thought the arena was going to collapse from the intensity. It is something that every IU student should be able to experience at least once. Unfortunately, for whatever reasons (debt), they might not be able to sit in those seats to contribute as such and must watch alumni sit quietly. The chant will happen again.\nI can only ask coach Sampson to step up and prevent this atrocity from happening again. Please do what you can to get us our seats back next year! Coach, your team's home reputation has been hurt badly, in the eyes of each other and the entire nation. Please do what you can to make your team and its proud student followers the best they can be.\nBrian Ward\nStudent
(01/11/07 2:20am)
American Indian culture involves more than genocide\nI am responding to Jonathan Rossing's column berating American-Indian student groups and the Mathers Museum for a children's event that taught about American-Indian stereotypes and realities ("Deeper diversity," Dec. 7, 2006).\nRossing did not attend our event but relied on an IDS article that omitted many things we said and, due to the demands of the format, contextually isolated others. Nonetheless, despite not attending or talking to anyone who did, Rossing confidently declares, "Just a guess, but I bet the ... program made no mention of arguably the worst genocide in world history, when European settlers quickly destroyed the population of native dwellers." Even as he chastises us for not bringing genocide to schoolchildren, Rossing views our communities as existing only within the framework that interests him -- the framework of genocide, which he wrongfully believes "destroyed" us -- rather than as living peoples who have worth outside history, and who, dare I say it, have as much right to enjoy life as others.\nMr. Rossing, I teach my students about genocide every class. American Indians live the results of genocide every day. And indeed we talk about it and the misconceptions that enabled it. But it does not define us. I hope you can recognize the irony of a non-Native enlightening us about our history. (And I don't agree that it was the "worst genocide" -- comparing degree of genocide is perverse, not to mention pointless.)\nThe Native American Graduate Student Association and the American Indian Student Association organize children's events. We also offer events for adults, including annual film and lecture series. We advocate for IUB to better support American-Indian students. Just helping children recognize that we didn't disappear is significant. No one, adult or child, cares about people viewed as ghosts or monsters. \nWhen you're willing to get off your high horse and labor for "deeper diversity," or to speak to American Indians before you tell us what we don't say, let us know. Meanwhile, we've got work to do -- the work of survival and creating a strong future for our communities. We are more than the past or present. We do not exist to enrich your sense of guilt. We are, as Dennis Lamenti said, living in the world.\nRebecca Riall\nDoctoral student, anthropology\nLaw student
(01/10/07 11:06pm)
To observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and holiday in 2007, Bloomington, its residents and IU have a schedule the IDS, Herald-Times, University and city officials have publicized well. The carefully delineated events will poignantly underscore an old Negro spiritual, or song, that says, "We've come a long way, Lord, a mighty long way." \nHowever, in Prophet Jeremiah's words, America still has "a work to do" to shrink varied gaps between racial minorities and whites and to move beyond symbolism into a more meaningful celebration of Dr. King's principles and legacy.\nThat is why we need individual agenda for racial equality and meaningful cross-racial friendships, rooted in Dr. King's contention that "men hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don't know each other. They don't know each other because they can't communicate with each other. They can't communicate with each other because they're separated from each other." \nDr. King saw integration, for example, as a mechanism to facilitate understanding and racial harmony. That is why we agree that cross-racial relationships can help in establishing a common ground among Bloomington residents. It is time for city residents to get to know their co-workers, neighbors and worshippers of different faiths and go beyond the superficial pleasantries, smiles and hugs. \nOur family of four, for instance, pleasurably celebrated last year's Thanksgiving with Jewish friends. A few weeks after that, we served as fellowships in the home of a Caucasian family from our church. Both were events that have helped to plant seeds of growing friendships. We shared common family and school stories as a way of bridging the racial divide. If others do likewise, people of different races will move from mere racial tolerance to a real sense of kinship, caring and love to help bring about Dr. King's concept of the beloved community. \nAlso, individual actions that are relevant to make such relationships work well are inextricably linked with Dr. King's notion of "power of one," which is the theme of this year's essay topic for IU undergraduate and graduate essays of the King Day Essay Contest, a theme consistent with Dr. King's ideals.\nHence, it is time for all Bloomington residents to work hard with our well-meaning local government officials to modify any institutional practices that go against Dr. King's dream, including institutional discrimination as well as resisting the temptation of turning a blind eye to injustice. Dr. King echoed loudly that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere!\nSo, in honor of Dr. King and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the late first lady of the civil-rights movement, everyone should move beyond the symbolism of merely gathering annually to break bread together and talking about "how to get along." Instead, let us engage in very meaningful actions that truly represent Dr. King's nature, his spirit and the society-changing principles that he preached and for which he was murdered young in Memphis.
