Region

The week in music

Women's crew captain holds team together

In the sport of rowing, the boat can only move as fast as the weakest person allows it to go. Leading by example, Katy Ostertag, captain of the rowing team, has made sure the weakest person is as strong as possible.

2,800 sign petition asking administrators to resign

In the past two weeks, 2,800 people have signed the Take Back IU petition, a petition created by a group of alumni calling for the resignation of President Myles Brand, Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations Christopher Simpson, athletics director Clarence Doninger and the entire board of trustees.

8th district candidate profiles

Candidates use talk shows to reach voters

Few celebrities can manage to secure appearances on Oprah, Regis, Letterman, Leno, Rosie and Saturday Night Live all in one month. Despite all odds, presidential front runners have joined the ranks of those lucky few.

Bush, Gore cautious about too much election rhetoric

Using the phrase "he's all talk" has an entirely different meaning in this presidential campaign.

E-mail undergoes face-lift

A new Web-based e-mail system the University is testing could move students out of the 1980s and into the new millennium, providing a more convenient way to check e-mail.

Goalie glad to be back in Indiana

Charlie Pulley is the only transfer goalie for the hockey team, fighting for playing time against three seasoned Hoosier veterans. He is the only sophomore competing against three seniors. He also started the Hoosiers' first game this season.

Standout's career winding down

Senior outside hitter Amanda Welter is an imposing figure. At 6-foot-3, with sturdy shoulders and a hammer for an arm, she is big. But she's also good. Her statistics reflect her physical stature: 1,022 career kills, a .273 career hitting percentage and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Women's soccer team to face challenges at nonconference game

The women's soccer team is hoping to end the season strong as it heads into its second-to-last match Thursday against nonconference foe Cincinnati.

Running back returns to mix

Saturday, Levron Williams wanted to make a statement. The Hoosiers' junior running back was returning from nagging injuries that limited his play in the previous two games. In the third quarter of the Hoosiers' 51-43 win against then-No. 22 Minnesota, Williams got his chance. With his team trailing 29-24 toward the end of the third quarter, Williams took a pitch from junior quarterback Antwaan Randle El and scampered 36 yards down the sideline for his second touchdown of the game.

\'Bette\'

With a catchy theme song and a charismatic star, "Bette" actually manages to rise above typical sitcom mediocrity. The premise of Bette Midler's star vehicle (basically she plays herself) seems very thin at first glance, but Midler's bawdy, slightly egotistical portrayal of her alter ego is actually pretty humorous.

Indy band\'s new release an assault on the senses

Indianapolis' Burn it Down is now unarguably the biggest "local" band happening in the state. The band is doing its first full U.S. tour this fall with metal giants In Flames and plans to tour Europe and Japan next year.

'Pay it Forward' works better as theory than movie

Paying it forward -- it's such a great idea if we could only put it into practice. Help three people with something extremely difficult and ask nothing in return but that they spread the message to three different people.

'Monday Night Football'

It almost seems as if the game is a secondary concern on Monday Night Football this season. Dwindling ratings prompted producer Don Ohlmeyer to overhaul "ABC Monday Night Football's" announcing crew. There hasn't been a significant change in ratings after eight weeks, but the show does have a different feel to it.

Throwing away dollars

My boyfriend loves the Indianapolis Colts. In fact, he loves them so much I know that, when Sunday rolls around, I have to be quiet for the afternoon, or go over to his apartment later, because nothing keeps him from watching Marvin Harrison run for a touchdown.

WIUS pick of the week

The music force that is the Elephant Six Collective (E6) has been awfully quiet lately. Throughout the country, lovers of the quirky, retro-pop that is the specialty of the E6 collective have been going into withdrawal. They have been begging for the powerful punch of Beatles, Beach Boy and Zombies-influenced pop to get them through the long, cold weather. They need the quirky lyrics surrounded by the warm glow of the '60s and '70s. Elf Power's The Winter is Coming is just that fix.

City Lights Review

"The Bride of Frankenstein" (James Whale, USA, 1935), "King Kong" (Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, USA, 1933)

'Girlfight' deserves praise

Sundance winner for "Grand Jury Prize" and "Best Director" as well as Cannes winner for "International Young Cinema Award," it's no surprise that Karyn Kusama's "Girlfight" turns out to be one of the best American films this year. The biggest achievement of Kusama's directorial debut is the fact that the film is so genuine and affecting despite some really generic plot elements (for example, "Love & Basketball" meets "Rocky" and "Raging Bull"). The film also boasts an Oscar-worthy screen debut of Michelle Rodriguez.

Burn it down

After more than three years of intense friendship, dedication and sacrifice, Burn it Down is standing on the brink of a new world. With the release of its debut full-length CD, Let the Dead Bury the Dead, this Indianapolis quartet has risen above its status as one of the city's better hardcore bands. The band now stands at the edge of the unknown.